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THE 

COLUMBIA READERS 

FIFTH YEAR 

BY 

FREDERICK G. BONSER, Ph.D 

PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 


LULU B. BECKINGTON, A.B. 

PUBLIC SCHOOLS, TULSA, OKLAHOMA 



MENTZER, BUSH & COMPANY 

Chicago New York Dallas 



















•?£ 



Copyright , 1926, by 
Mentzer, Bush & Company 
All rights reserved 


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PREFACE 


The pupil in the primary grades is confronted in 
reading by a three-fold problem: (i) mastering the 
mechanics of reading; (2) getting the thought from 
the printed page; and (3) giving effective expression 
to his reading. 

Throughout the grades these three phases of read¬ 
ing continue to claim the pupil's attention, a gradual¬ 
ly decreasing emphasis being required on the mechan¬ 
ical mastery and a gradually increasing emphasis 
being needed in the interpretation of the thought 
of a selection. 

This reader is prepared with the aim of including 
various types of reading material such as literature, 
history, mathematics, science, magazine articles and 
newspaper articles. Any reader designed for the 
upper grades should give training in these various 
types of material. The selections included in this 
volume have been chosen from all of these sources. 
There are selections of unquestioned literary merit 
such as: “Moses Drives a Bargain," “The Brook," 
“The Happy Prince," “The Old Clock on the 
Stairs," “The Miraculous Pitcher," and “A Christ¬ 
mas Present for a Lady." Such selections should be 
studied and read orally. There are other articles 
such as “The Earth's Envelope," “How New Plants 
Are Produced," and “Reading Arithmetic Problems," 
which are purely informational. Such selections are 
designed to give information and are not embodied 
as literary models. 

In using such diversified material, a pupil needs to 
know how to attack and organize each type of 


IV 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


material. In other words the fifth grade pupil should 
be trained to study. It is the purpose of this book 
to present some simple methods and schemes for 
study which have been found successful in classroom 
practice. Among the various methods suggested are: 
preparing questions covering the significant points 
of a selection; using keywords (or brief statements) 
to enable one to recall the chief points of an article; 
skimming an article to find answers to specific ques¬ 
tions; memorizing a poem by the most economical 
method; appreciating humorous stories; vocabulary 
studies; giving reports on magazine articles; speed 
tests for stimulating rapid reading; giving oral (or 
drawn) reproductions of pictures seen in a selection; 
and arousing curiosity to stimulate the interest of 
the pupil. These methods and schemes are presented 
in directions to pupils. By this means the pupil is 
trained in following directions and the teacher uses 
the various suggestions more than she would if she 
had to refer to a teachers’ manual. 

The authors wish to acknowledge their indebted¬ 
ness to Superintendent J. H. Smith of the West Side 
Schools of Aurora, Illinois, for his aid in the collection, 
testing, and organization of the material for this 
reader. They are also deeply indebted to the various 
authors and publishing companies who have given 
permission for the use of the selections in this book. 
Specific acknowledgment is made in connection with 
each article, usually at the close. 


INTRODUCTION 


The Purpose of These Readers. The Columbia Series 
of Readers is planned to afford an efficient means for developing 
ability and skill in both oral and silent reading. In almost every 
study in school and almost every important enterprise in life 
outside of school, success is contingent upon a mastery of 
silent reading—reading with clear comprehension and with a 
reasonably rapid rate of speed. In developing efficiency in 
silent reading, it is probable that very substantial aid is con¬ 
tributed to proficiency in oral reading, since rapid, silent com¬ 
prehension of thought gives added time for appropriate inter¬ 
pretation through oral expression. 

The Material The material has been so selected as to 
provide instruction and practice in all of the kinds of reading 
common to the experiences of daily life. Attention has been 
given to the inclusion of material which is of immediate value to 
pupils in the kinds of reading required in the several school 
subjects, and for other problems related to school life. 

Methods of Using the Books. Probably the most effec¬ 
tive way in which to use the Readers is to keep them away from 
the children excepting during the periods of class work and 
specific study. For instructional and testing purposes, new 
material is somewhat better than that which is familiar. How¬ 
ever, if the books are owned by the pupils, they may be kept by 
them and the instructions and tests still used as indicated for 
each respective lesson. Because of familiarity, the scores may 
be a little higher than otherwise. But pupils whose interest in 
reading is such that they will read the selections in advance of 
class use will usually be found to score high, relatively, and to 
need less instruction in silent reading than others. 

The More Common Causes of Defects in Reading. 
When intelligence is not below average, backwardness in read¬ 
ing is more commonly caused by: 


VI 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


Eye defects of various kinds, some of which may be remedied 
by proper diagnosis and treatment. 

Bad habits of eye movements which may usually be cured. 

Speech defects which may affect both oral and silent reading- 
Most of these may be remedied. 

Neglect of comprehension in an overemphasis on the 
mechanics of word recognition and articulation. 

Neglect of the mechanics of word recognition and of ability 
to deal with new words in an attempt to gain the thought by 
rapid scanning, developing the habit of guessing and inaccuracy. 

Defects of association, either of associating sounds of words 
with their form, or of associating forms of words with their 
meaning. These defects are somewhat difficult to remove, but 
proper treatment patiently administered will usually bring 
favorable results. 

Most children, however, who read more slowly and with a 
poorer degree of comprehension than they should, do so either 
because of poor habits of eye control, or because of an over¬ 
emphasis or an underemphasis of the mechanics of word 
recognition. Every child having any reading difficulty should 
have a careful, individual diagnosis made and be given appro¬ 
priate individual treatment. 

Increasing Speed in Silent Reading. When the particu¬ 
lar reading defect or defects of any child are found and the 
proper remedy applied, the response in an increased rate will 
usually be prompt and substantial. While each child with de¬ 
fects will have to be treated individually to some extent, there 
are also certain general appeals and instructions which will have 
a marked effect. Merely setting up speed as an end and 
emphasizing it will bring an increase. Rate drills which are 
provided in this book are a very effective means. Making in¬ 
dividual graphs and class charts showing speeds as revealed 
by tests at occasional intervals is a means of stimulation which 
is usually a strong factor in bringing about improvement. If 
word recognition is slow, some work in syllabication, phonics, 


INTRODUCTION 


vii 

and in the study of root forms, prefixes and suffixes may be 
effective in improving both speed and comprehension. Con¬ 
centration of attention, working under the pressure of time 
control, and reading much material that is well graded to one’s 
ability and interest are all helpful factors. Developing in the 
child a desire and a determination to read more efficiently is 
highly desirable and effective. 

Rates of Speed for Respective Grades. The approxi¬ 
mate average rates of speed for children who had not been 
trained for rapid, silent reading as found by Courtis, and for 
children who had been trained as found by O’Brien, are here 
given in words per minute: 

Grades Courtis—Untrained O’Brien—Trained 

4 160 236 

5 180 278 

6 220 293 

7 250 322 

8 280 393 

The variations from these averages are about twenty*words 
above or below For the untrained, and about from seven to 
twelve words above or below for the trained. In a first test in 
schools in which no training has been given in silent reading, the 
approximate rates of the Courtis averages may be expected, 
while the O’Brien average may well be thought of as represent¬ 
ing reasonable possibilities which may result from good training 

Improving Comprehension. Establishing habits of rapid 
reading does not of itself increase the accuracy of comprehen¬ 
sion. To improve comprehension, emphasis should be placed 
upon reading with definite, conscious purposes. Among the 
purposes more commonly found, are reading to find answers for 
specific questions; to organize what is read in outline or sum¬ 
mary form for oral presentation; and to derive satisfaction, 
inspiration, and enjoyment from reading as the material makes 
its appeal to interests and experience. Every selection in this 
book provides means for developing increased facility in com¬ 
prehension. Everv subject in which reading is used presents 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


viii 

the opportunity and the necessity for clearness in comprehen¬ 
sion. The encouragement of wholesome and varied home 
reading for pleasure, of related reading supplementary to text 
books in school subjects, and of frequent reports to one’s class 
on general and supplementary reading helps to increase accur¬ 
acy and depth of comprehension. Such work in word study as 
makes for quick grasp of meanings improves both comprehen¬ 
sion and speed. Familiarity with the more common root or 
stem elements of derivative words, and with prefixes and 
suffixes facilitates both recognition and comprehension. Im¬ 
provement in comprehension tends to an increase of speed, as a 
rapid grasp of meaning enables one to pass more rapidly over 
the connectives and other relatively subordinate words, filling in 
through a form of preperception, and thus successfully skim¬ 
ming the thought of meaning accurately without loss. 

Improving Oral Reading. One having no speech defects 
will usually read orally with about the same degree of excellence 
shown in his silent reading. Good oral reading requires all of 
the factors and processes of good silent reading with the addi¬ 
tional element of correct and effective expression through 
speaking. The comprehension must be sufficiently clear so that 
the meaning may be grasped and expressed at a rate at least as 
fast as one should speak in order to be clearly understood by his 
auditors. Increasing efficiency in silent reading is therefore a 
means by which oral reading may also be improved. In oral 
reading, however, such attention to expression is needed as will 
enable one to make his presentation pleasing and effective for 
his auditors. Making reports, presenting summaries or ex¬ 
tracts, and reading selections for the information, satisfaction, 
or enjoyment of others offer the occasions for attention to oral 
reading. If defects in articulation, in manner, in speed, in 
quality of voice, or in any other particular are evident in the 


INTRODUCTION 


IX 


oral reading of pupils, these should be made a matter of in¬ 
dividual study and improvement as needed by the respective 
children. 

The Use of Standard Tests. The scores for the material 
in these Readers are necessarily not standardized. Individual 
scores will therefore have to be estimated in relationship to 
class scores. In speed, however, comparison with the grade 
rates as indicated in a foregoing paragraph will offer a rough 
approximation of relationship to standard achievement. It will 
be well to give some established standard test in speed and com¬ 
prehension early in the school year, and to repeat this in three 
or four months and again near the end of the year. The pupils 
will then have a basis for comparing their own achievements 
more accurately with standards, and to determine their progress 
for the interval between such tests. 

Several different standardized tests in silent reading are 
available. The work in testing is growing increasingly refined 
and accurate. Tests having some advantage over those now 
available may be offered for general use before a given school 
has supplied itself with test forms. No particular tests are 
therefore suggested here. Instead, it is recommended that 
when the time comes to secure test materials, advice be asked 
of the Department of Educational Measurements of a School of 
Education or a Teachers’ College in one’s own state, or in some 
well known institution more distant. A request for information 
as to the best tests to use and where they may be secured will 
usually bring suggestions as to the most recent reliable material 
available. 

Teachers desiring to acquaint themselves more fully with 
what is known of the problems of the psychology and teaching 
of reading will find the following books scientific, readable, and 
helpful: 

Huey, Edmund B .—The Psychology and Pedagogy of 
Reading , The Macmillan Company, 1913. 


X 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


O’Brien, John A.— Silent Readings The Macmillan 
Company, 1920. 

The Twentieth Year Book of the National Society for 
the Study of Education: Part II—Silent Readings 

Public School Publishing Company, Blooming¬ 
ton, Illinois, 1921. 

For individual pupils, there is much reason to expect that, in 
other school subjects in which reading is a prominent means 
of study, progress will be directly promoted by improvement in 
speed and comprehension in silent reading. This helps to im¬ 
press the fundamental importance of developing a high degree 
of efficiency in silent reading and to justify the effort and atten¬ 
tion required to achieve it. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Speed Test No. i, 

Missed One Word in Spelling. 5 

Speed Test No. 2, 

An Ax to Grind. 35 

Speed Test No. 3, 

The New Word. 122 

Speed Test No. 4,, 

Pluto Steals Proserpina. 185 

Speed Test No. 5, 

Proserpina’s Return to Earth. 233 

Speed Test No. 6, 

What Bruce Learned. 241 

Special Tests 

Clear Thinking. 7 

A Word Placement Test. 43 

Yes or No. 94 

A Test of Understanding. 126 

Making Good Sentences. 168 

Word Opposites. 232 

Classifying Words. 264 

Arranging Words. 294 

Tests for Comprehension—Informational 

The Discovery of America, Irving . no 

Sir Galahad. 208 

The Corn-Song, Whittier . 239 

The Earth’s Envelope. 245 

Marvels of Ant Life, Derieux . 250 

The Sagacity of the Spider, Goldsmith . 268 

How New Plants are Produced. 274 

Reading Arithmetic Problems. 277 

The Little Match Girl. 295 

























Xll 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


Selections For Literary Appreciation 

(Prose and Poetry) 

Moses Drives a Bargain, Goldsmith . 3 1 

The Daffodils, Wordsworth . 37 

The Brook, Tennyson . 3 ^ 

Robert of Lincoln, Bryant . 4° 

The Happy Prince, Wilde . 44 

The Miraculous Pitcher, Hawthorne . 7 2 

The Old Clock on the Stairs, Longfellow . 99 

The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Browning . 173 

Tribute to Children, Longfellow . 225 

Robin Hood and Scarlet, An Old Ballad . 228 

King Bruce and the Spider, Cook . 265 

Hiawatha’s Wooing. 279 

Word and Dictionary Study 

The Discovery of America, Irving .. . no 

The Empty Stocking, Hubbard . 128 

The Wooden Horse of Troy. 193 

Ulysses and the Cyclops. 197 

Marvels of Ant Life, Derieux . 250 

The Sagacity of the Spider, Goldsmith . 268 

Historical 

Daniel Boone, The Founder of Kentucky. 102 

The Discovery of America, Irving . no 

Myths and Legends 

The Modern Pandora’s Box. 1 

The Enchanted Horse, Arabian Nights . . . . 54 

The Miraculous Pitcher, Hawthorne . 72 

The Mouse Tower on the Rhine, A Legend . 95 

Pluto Steals Proserpina, Hawthorne . 185 

Proserpina’s Return to the Earth, Hawthorne . 233 

Out of Doors 

Daffodils, Wordsworth . 37 

The Brook, Tennyson . 38 






























TABLE OF CONTENTS 


xiii 

Selections from Famous Literature to be read S. or O. 

Moses Drives a Bargain, Goldsmith . 31 

The Brook, Tennyson . 38 

The Happy Prince, Wilde . 44 

The Enchanted Horse, Arabian Nights . 54 

The Miraculous Pitcher, Hawthorne . 72 

The Old Clock on the Stairs, Longfellow . 99 

A Christmas Present for a Lady, Kelly . 284 

Anecdotes 

Where We Get It, The Girls' World . 12 

An Interest in the Business, Sour Owl . 30 

The Grandstand Umpire. 71 

Dilapidated. 170 

An Anecdote. 283 

Success—Right Living 

An Ax to Grind. 35 

Welfare Organizations. 127 

The Empty Stocking. 128 

Kindness to Animals 

A Band of Mercy, 132 

Black Beauty, Sewell . 150 

Patriotic 

The National Salute. 53 

How to Give the Salute to the Flag. 53 

The Star-Spangled Banner, Key . 301 

The Flag Goes By, Bennett . 302 

Respect the Flag, Owsley . 304 

Flag Day. 305 

The American Flag, Drake . 306 
























































































































THE MODERN PANDORA’S BOX 

Once upon a time, according to a myth told by 
the ancient Greeks and Romans, there was a very 
beautiful but exceedingly curious young woman 
who was sent down to the earth by Jupiter, the 
head of the gods, to be a companion to man. This 
girl’s name was Pandora, which means “gift of the 
gods,” and her companion’s name was Epimetheus, 
which means “afterthought.” 

These two lived very happily in a state of in¬ 
nocence and bliss. The climate was ideal; the land 
brought forth delicious food which they merely 
had to pick and eat; the sun shone the year around, 
and beautiful flowers made it a very paradise. There 
was no evil known, no sickness, no cold, no hunger. 

Now Epimetheus’ brother, Prometheus, or “fore¬ 
thought,” had wanted to bestow upon mankind 
a wonderful gift, and so he had decided to bring 
down some fire from the home of the gods so that 
men might have fire to use upon the earth. He 
could not get this unless he stole it from Mt. Olym- 




2 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


pus, and this he managed to do one night. Mortals 
accepted the gift, and Jupiter decided to punish 
them for taking the stolen fire. 

One evening when Pandora and Epimetheus 
were happily strolling about their yard before 
going to join their companions at play, Mercury > 
the messenger of the gods, came along the road, 
carrying on his back a heavy chest, and he stopped 
at their home. He said that he was tired of carrying 
the box and asked if he might leave it there over 
night. Of course Epimetheus said, “Yes,” and, 
though they urged Mercury to stop and rest, he 
hurried on. 

Pandora, who, as you remember, was very curious, 
could not keep away from the chest, and, though 
Epimetheus kept urging her to come out to play, she 
would not do so, but began to pout and to frown 
for the first time. Her companion joined the merry¬ 
makers outside, but Pandora kept peering about 
the box and wondering what could be in it. It 
was tied with a most attractive gold cord, and soon 
Pandora was trying her best to unfasten the stubborn 
knot. 

As she worked, she seemed to hear tiny voices; 
coming from the inside, and she became very much 
excited. Epimetheus came back for her, but she 
would not go with him. At last she heard him coming 
again just as the knotted string gave way, and, eager 
to have one peek inside before Epimetheus arrived, 
she raised the lid of the box and heard a chorus 
of voices that sang out, “Let us out, dear Pandora,, 
let us out; it's dark in here.” 

Immediately out flew countless little brown winged 
creatures which lighted upon Pandora and Epime¬ 
theus, stinging them and making them cry in pain. 


THE MODERN PANDORA’S BOX 


3 


These little trouble-makers flew out of the windows, 
stung the playmates, and caused much sorrow. The 
insects were all the ills, diseases, crimes, and suf¬ 
ferings that trouble mankind, and they had been 
crammed into the chest by Jupiter and sent to 
earth to punish man for Prometheus’ theft. 

Pandora wept bitterly when she found out what 
she had done, and Epimetheus, for the first time 
in his life, scolded her roundly. During this un¬ 
pleasantness, they heard a tiny, sweet voice coming 
from the chest, the cover of which Pandora had 
closed down as quickly as she could. The little 
voice said, “Open, open, and I will heal your wounds! 
Please let me out!” 

At last Pandora lifted the lid again, and out flew 
Hope, a kind, compassionate little creature whose 
mission it was to relieve the woes of mankind. Hope 
comforted Pandora and Epimetheus, healed their 
wounds and those of their companions, and again 
made them all hopeful and happy. 

This is the story of Pandora’s box, which as you 
see, contained a vast assortment of things about 
which Pandora was most curious. To-day we have 
Pandora boxes, but they are filled with better gifts 
than Jupiter sent by Mercury. This book which 
you are now reading may be said to be a modern 
Pandora’s box full of the most interesting joy-giving 
creatures. Here you will find miraculous pitchers; 
enchanted horses; faithful animals; strangely human 
insects; marvelous princes, knights, and ladies; 
daring explorers and discoverers, and any number 
of interesting people. 

If you wish to live in their world for a little while, 
you must learn how to get their message, and this 
you can do by cultivating a taste for good reading. 


4 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


Your guide will be Hope, the happy little helper 
who will steer you through the difficult passes if 
any such there be. It is now for you to untie the 
golden knot and open up this chest of treasures by 
reading. 


RAPID READING 

There are many advantages in being a rapid reader, 
(i) A rapid reader can get his lessons much more 
quickly than the slow reader. This leaves him extra 
time for other things that he wants to do. (2) A 
rapid reader not only is able to get his lessons quickly 
but he usually gets them better than the slow reader. 
This has been shown to be true by examining a large 
number of pupils. (3) A rapid reader can recognize 
words quickly and when he is reading orally his eye 
can run ahead of the words he is speaking. This 
enables him to put better expression into his oral 
reading. 

Are you a rapid reader? On the next page is a 
speed test. If you are a rapid reader, you should be 
able to read between 250 and 300 words per minute 
in this test. 

How can you increase your speed in reading? (1) 
By reading a large number of books. (2) By driving 
yourself to read just as rapidly as you can on every 
selection that you read and still get the thought of 
the selection. Train yourself by this method. 


MISSED ONE WORD IN SPELLING 


5 


SPEED TEST I 

When the teacher gives the signal “Begin,” start reading the 
following story. Read just as rapidly as you can for one minute. 
You will not need to think about the time, because the teacher 
will give you a signal “Check” to indicate that time is up. 
Place a light line under the last word that you were reading at 
the*time that she said, “Check.” Then finish reading the story. 
Do not read so rapidly that you will not get the story, because 
some of you will be expected to tell the story when you have 
finished reading. 

On page vii in the Introduction of this book, you will find 
a table which will show you how fast you should read to be up 
to the standard for this grade. This table shows that a fifth- 
grade pupil should be able to read from 180 words to 278 words 
per minute, depending on how much practice he has had in 
reading. Count the number of words that you read between 
the signal “Begin” and the signal “Check.” This will give the 
number of words that you read in a minute. How does your 
rate compare with the grade standards given on page vii? 

Other speed tests are scattered through this book. Practice 
reading as rapidly as possible, on every selection in this book 
and also in all of your outside reading, so that you can show an 
increase from test to test. 

MISSED ONE WORD IN SPELLING 

Jimmy came in from school and began to climb 
into his play clothes. 

“How was spelling to-day?” grandfather asked 

“Missed only one word,” replied Jimmy, as he 
helped himself to an apple from the fruit dish. 

Jimmy did not think it was bad at all to miss 
just one word. He ran out of the door whistling and 
over to the new house next door. Every night, 
since the new house had started, Jimmy had watched 
the carpenter after school. 


6 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


“Hello, there. Home again, I see!” called the 
friendly carpenter, who had come to know Jimmy 
real well. 

“Yes, school's out,” replied Jimmy, as he walked 
about looking at the new stairway which the man 
was just finishing. 

“How hard did you study to-day?” called the 
carpenter. 

“Oh, I only missed one word out of ten,” replied 
Jimmy. 

The carpenter stopped pounding for a moment and 
looked down at Jimmy as if he were interested in 
those ten words Jimmy was telling about, “Now 
isn’t that queer?” he said. 

“What?” asked Jimmy in surprise. 

“Why, your work to-day was a whole lot like 
mine,” he replied. 

“I don’t see what you mean,” said Jimmy, more 
puzzled than ever. 

The carpenter answered, with a twinkle in his 
eye, “You had to learn ten words in your spelling 
lesson, and I had to build ten steps in this stairway.” 

Jimmy smiled as he saw the joke. Then, as 
the carpenter picked up his hammer to go to work 
again, the boy said, rather softly as if he were just 
a little ashamed, “You didn’t miss any steps in 
your stairway, though, did you?” 

“Well, no, I guess they’re all in good and tight. 
I couldn’t keep my job very long if I missed one 
step in ten,” laughed the jolly carpenter. 

Jimmy didn’t say a word in reply, but he looked 
as though he believed what the carpenter said. 

The next day, when he came in from school, 


MISSED ONE WORD IN SPELLING 


7 


grandfather asked him the very same question. 
“Jimmy, how was spelling to-day ?” 

“Well, I’m going to tell the carpenter tonight, 
that no one will tumble through my spelling stairway 
for I didn’t leave any holes,” he replied. 

—Courtesy of “Dew Drops ” 


CLEAR THINKING 

Answer these problems by writing Yes or No. Put your 
name on the first line at the right of your paper and your grade 
below it on the second line. Put the answer to the first question 
on the third line. Use a new line for each new answer. 

1. The Boys in the fifth grade like to play ball. John is in 
the fifth grade. Does he like to play ball? 

2 . Fred is older than James. I am older than Fred. Am I 
younger than James? 

3. Fuel is used to make heat. Coal makes heat. Is Coal a 
fuel ? 

4. Coffee grows in a very warm climate. Would you try 
to raise Coffee in Alaska? 

5. If ten is five more than five, write NO on your paper. 

6. John and James are in the fifth grade. John likes Reading 
better than James. Does John like Reading? 

7. If 6X10 is equal to 5X12 what is the sum of 6+9+4? 


8 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


BEETHOVEN AND THE BLIND GIRL 

The following incident is taken from the life story of one 
of the master composers of music, Beethoven, who lived in 
Germany. You will enjoy reading the origin of one of the fam¬ 
ous pieces of music called the ‘‘Moonlight Sonata.” 

Try to find a picture of a harpsichord, which was an early 
form of our present piano, and, if you are successful, bring it to 
class so that your classmates may see also. You are to bd able 
to tell the story when you have completed the reading; so, as 
you read, pay attention to what each said so that your account 
may be accurate and full. Your teacher will tell you whether 
she wishes you to write the story or to give it orally at the close 
of your reading. 

It happened at Bonn. One moonlight winter’s 
evening I called upon Beethoven; for I wished 
him to take a walk, and afterward to sup with me. 
In passing through some dark, narrow street, he 
paused suddenly. “Hush!” he said, “what sound 
is that? It is from my Sonata in F,” he said eagerly. 
“Hark! how well it is played!” 

It was a little, mean dwelling, and we paused out¬ 
side and listened. The player went on; but in 
the midst of the finale there was a sudden break, 
then the voice of sobbing. “I cannot play any more. 
It is so beautiful, it is utterly beyond my power to 
do it justice. Oh, what would I not give to go to 
the concert at Cologne!” 

“Ah! my sister,” said her companion, “why create 
regrets when there is no remedy? We can scarcely 
pay our rent.” 

“You are right; and yet I wish for once in my life 
to hear some really good music. But it is of no use.” 

Beethoven looked at me. “Let us go in,” he said. 

‘Go in!” I exclaimed. “What can we go in for?” 

“I will play to her,” he said, in an excited tone. 


BEETHOVEN AND THE BLIND GIRL 


9 


“Here is feeling—genius—understanding! I will 
play to her and she will understand it.” And before 
I could prevent him, his hand was upon the door. 

A pale young man was sitting by the table, making 
shoes; and near him, leaning sorrowfully before an 
old-fashioned harpsichord, sat a young girl, with a 
profusion of light hair falling over her bent face. 
Both were cleanly but very poorly dressed, and 
both started and turned toward us as we entered. 

“Pardon me,” said Beethoven, “but I heard 
music, and was tempted to enter. I am a musician.” 

The girl blushed, and the young man looked grave 
—somewhat annoyed. 

“I—I also overheard something of what you said,” 
continued my friend. “You wish to hear—that 
is, you would like—that is— shall I—ah—play 
for you?” 

There was something so odd in the whole affair, 
and something so comic and pleasant in the manner 
of the speaker, that the spell was broken in a moment 
and all smiled involuntarily. 

“Thank you,” said the shoemaker; “but our 
harpsichord is so wretched, and we have no music.” 

“No music!” echoed my friend. “How, then, does 
the Fraulein—” 

He paused, and colored up, for the girl looked full 
at him, and he saw that she was blind. 

“I—I entreat your pardon,” he stammered; “but 
I had not perceived before. Then you play by ear?” 

“Entirely.” 

“And where do you hear the music, since you 
frequent no concerts?” 

“I used to hear a lady practising near us, when 


IO 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


we lived at Bruhl two years. During the summer 
evenings her windows were generally open, and 
I walked to and fro outside to listen to her. Soon 
I learned to play her music from memory.” 

She seemed shy; so Beethoven said no more, but 
seated himself quietly before the harpsichord, and 
began to play. He had no sooner struck the first 
chord than I knew what would follow—how grand 
he would be that night. And I was not mistaken. 
Never, during all the years that I knew him, did 
I hear him play as he then played to that blind 
girl and her brother. He was inspired; and, from 
the instant that his fingers began to wander along 
the keys, the very tone of the instrument seemed to 
grow sweeter and more equal. 

The brother and sister were silent with wonder 
and rapture. The former laid aside his work; the 
latter, with her head bent slightly forward, and 
her hands pressed tightly over her breast, crouched 
down near the end of the harpsichord, as if fearful 
lest even the beating of her heart should break the 
flow of those magical, sweet sounds. It was as if 
we were all bound in a strange dream, and only 
feared to wake. 

Suddenly the flame of the single candle wavered, 
sank, flickered, and went out. Beethoven paused, 
and I threw open the shutters, admitting a flood 
of brilliant moonlight. The room was almost as 
light as before, and the illumination fell strongest 
upon the harpsichord and player. But the chain 
of his ideas seemed to have been broken by the 
accident. His head dropped upon his breast; his 
hands rested upon his knees; he seemed absorbed 
in deep thought; and he was thus for some time. 

At length the young shoemaker rose and ap- 


BEETHOVEN AND THE BLIND GIRL 


ii 


proached him eagerly yet reverently. “Wonderful 
man!” he said, in a low tone. “Who and what are 
you ?” 

The composer smiled as he only could smile, 
benevolently, indulgently, kingly. “Listen!” he 
said, and he played the opening bars of the Sonata 
in F. 

A cry of delight and recognition burst from them 
both, and exclaiming, “Then you are Beethoven!” 
they covered his hands with tears and kisses. 

He rose to go, but they held him back with en¬ 
treaties. “Play to us once more—only once more— 
please.” 

He suffered himself to be led back to the instru¬ 
ment. The moon shone brightly in through the 
window and lighted up his glorious, rugged head 
and massive figure. “I will improvise a sonata to 
the moonlight!” said he, looking up thoughtfully 
to the sky and stars. Then his hands dropped to 
the keys, and he began playing a sad and infinitely 
lovely movement, which crept gently over the in¬ 
strument, like the calm flow of moonlight over the 
dark and silent earth. 

This was followed by a wild, elfin passage in triple 
time—a sort of grotesque interlude, like the dance 
of sprites upon the lawn. Then came a swift agitato 
finale—a breathless, hurrying, trembling movement, 
descriptive of flight, and uncertainty, and vague 
impulsive terror, which carried us away on its 
rustling wings, and left us all in emotion and wonder. 

“Farewell to you!” said Beethoven, pushing back 
his chair, and turning toward the door—“farewell 
to you!” 

“You will come again?” asked they, in one breath. 


12 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


He paused and looked compassionately, almost 
tenderly, at the face of the blind girl. “Yes, yes,” 
he said hurriedly, “and give the Fraulein some 
lessons! Farewell! I will soon come again!” 

They followed us in silence more eloquent than 
words, and stood at their door till we were out of 
sight and hearing. 

“Let us make haste, back,” said Beethoven, “that 
I may write out that sonata while I can yet remember 
it.” 

We did so, and he sat working over it until long 
past day dawn. And this was the origin of that 
“Moonlight Sonata” with which we are so fondly 
acquainted. 


A Suggestion for Your Music Period 

If you have a phonograph in your school, have some one 
bring to class a record of the “Moonlight Sonata” to be played 
and enjoyed. If not, ask to have it played at the first op¬ 
portunity where there is one. You will enjoy the music better 
after having read the incident that made Beethoven compose 
it. 


WHERE WE GET IT 

“I know where the electricity comes from that 
lights our house,” said little Marie. 

“Where does it come from?” asked her small 
brother. 

“From the wall,” replied Marie. “When mother 
wants a light she unbuttons it.” 


—The Girl's World 


BLACK POWDER 




BLACK POWDER 

As you read this daring story have in mind the following 
questions. This will help you to grasp the important details for 
retelling the story. 

1. From the title what do you imagine that the story will be 
about? 

2. What is an auger and for what was it to be used? 

3. Which of the boys was the older? the more daring? 

4. Who was Bob and how did he help ? 

5. Why did the boys make the notch much deeper on the 
one side than on the other? 

6. What shows that they were not experienced wood- 
choppers ? 

7. How could they have used a handspike? 

8. Show how the auger came in handy and explain in detail 
Harry’s plan. 

9. How did his plan work out? 

10. What was the object of the railway detective’s visit to 
the home of the boys? 

“We shall have to have an auger before we can 
put the frame together,” said my father. “A two- 
inch auger. You boys had better go to town for 
it this evening.” 

We were sitting at supper in our cabin in the 
hills after a day of hard work on the timbers for 
the new barn. Harry and I exchanged glances of 
disappointment but said nothing. Father had not 
known of our intended raccoon hunt that night; 
but although he never refused us any rightful 
pleasure, he always insisted on business first, and 
we knew better than to argue the matter. So, after 
we had split the kindling for the morning and filled 
the wood box, we started on our errand. 

We had gone only a few paces when Harry hesi- 


14 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


tated and said in a low tone, “Wait a minute. 
Then he slipped back to the rear door. 

He reappeared in a moment carrying our muzzle¬ 
loading shotgun and the axe; from his shoulders 
hung the big old powderhorn and shot pouch. Under¬ 
standing his plan at once, I took the axe without a 
word. Thus we set off for town, with Bob, our 
Airedale hunting dog, following at our heels. 

“Do you suppose father will care?” I asked after 
we had gone some distance. 

“Not if we do the errand first,” Harry replied. 
“When we spring the surprise it will be all right.” 

That winter, in order to buy a new gun, we had 
been secretly hoarding our trapping money. Two 
more good coon pelts would give us enough to make 
the purchase and surprise our parents. They had 
been in sympathy with our desire to own a new gun, 
but they could not afford to buy one for us. 

It was an ideal “coon night”—soft, foggy, with 
a full moon rising late, and the end of the fur season 
was at hand. We had not many nights to lose, we 
knew well. 

At the store Harry waited outside while I went 
in and made our purchase. Then, calling Bob, we 
set out on a long, circuitous route that would take 
us home through the woods in what for most of 
the way we knew was good coon country. 

We were nearing home when Bob at last struck a 
warm trail and left us. We sat on the fence that 
bordered the cornfield in which he was running and 
tried to follow his course by the rattle of weeds and 
the patter of his feet on the frozen ground. 

After a while we heard his eager, excited yelp 
in the woods near by, and we knew that he was closing 


BLACK POWDER 


J 5 


in. We hurried after him and soon recognized the 
sharp bark announcing that the animal was treed. 

It was an old beech tree that had been dying for 
some years. We had chopped a rabbit out of the 
hollow trunk that very winter, and we recognized 
the spot. The tree stood by the fence that bordered 
the railway track and was only a few yards from the 
bank of the creek over which the track passed on a 
high trestle. 

“I always suspected that was a coon tree,” I said 
as we ran to the spot and gazed up into the branches. 
“What’d we better do now?” 

“What do we always do when they go up?” Harry 
replied, throwing aside his coat and taking the axe. 

“I’m afraid we oughtn’t,” I protested uncertainly. 

“Why not? he insisted. “Don’t we always cut 
coon trees? Doesn’t everyone cut coon trees?” 

“Of course, but it’s pretty late, and we’ve no 
lantern. Besides, father doesn’t know what we’re 
doing,” I said. 

Harry was always bolder than I and quicker to 
act. He gazed up for a moment at the tree top 
shrouded in mist, then looked round for a good place 
to drop the trunk. He was a good axeman and could 
fell a tree with considerable accuracy. 

“We could come back to-morrow night,” I sug¬ 
gested. 

“Yes, and we could find them gone, and have our 
work for nothing: no coons and no hammerless 
breechloader before the duck season opens. You 
know that the time to cut a coon tree is when the 
family is at home,” he added conclusively and 
squared away for the chopping. 


16 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


“Where are you going to throw that tree?’ I 
asked, as he stood resting a moment after the first 
attack. 

“Right toward the creek, just inside the fence. 
That will give Bob a chance to corner them between 
the creek and the railway.” 

We took turns at the axe; we cut a notch rn each 
side of the trunk, and made the notch on the side 
toward which the tree was to fall much the deeper. 
At last, as Harry was swinging hard, and the sharp, 
deep-biting edge was scattering big chips, there was a 
sharp crack followed by an ominous silence. 

We both leaped back and got under the shelter of 
a tree near by. The big beech leaned slowly toward 
the creek, then broke from its stump, swerved to¬ 
ward the railway tracks, and with a majestic sweep, 
a rush and a mighty crash it fell, but not in the posi¬ 
tion that we had planned. The trunk of the tree fell 
diagonally across the railway track, so near the trestle 
that the top snapped short off and fell into the creek 
just beyond the abutment. Bob dashed off to in¬ 
vestigate the coon's nest; but Harry and I, gazing 
at each other in dismay, had suddenly lost all interest. 

“You've done it now,” I said glumly. 

“Yes,” he rejoined hotly. “You didn't do any of 
it, did you? Why didn’t you remind me about that 
one-sided top?” 

“Because I didn't think of it,” I admitted. 

“Neither did I,” he replied. “Well, Frank, there's 
no use in fussing here any longer. We've got to get 
that thing off the tracks.” 

“There'll be the eleven-o'clock passenger,” I 
reminded him, “but I don’t believe it’s anywhere 
near time for that.” 


BLACK POWDER 


17 

We scrambled over the broken fence and across 
the ditch. The tree had been long dead and was 
very dry and brittle. It had broken into several 
sections, one of which lay between the rails, diag¬ 
onally across the ties with an end resting on the end 
of the trestle. We hurried to clear away the debris, 
tossing the lighter limbs aside and heaving together 
at the heavy ones. At last we had cleared away all 
the stuff except the trunk itself. We tugged and 
strained at that for several minutes without budging 
it an inch. 

“If we only had a handspike,” said Harry, as we 
stopped to get our breath. 

I searched the limbs, but could find nothing that 
would do. Then I started back for the axe. 

“Where are you going?” he called. 

“To cut a sapling.” 

“You'd have to hunt a good while. There’s no 
small growth around here.” His voice had an anxious 
note in it. “Bring the axe here,” he went on. “We’ll 
have to cut this thing in two; it’s the only way.” 

I hurried back, and Harry, seizing the axe, swung 
it high above his head; but even as it descended there 
came to our ears on the still, foggy night air a faint, 
long-drawn whistle. The axe fell from his grasp. 
Cold chills gripped my heart. That whistle was for 
Baker’s Crossing, five miles down the track. We 
must have been much longer in the woods than we 
had supposed. 

“She comes through here sixty miles an hour,” 
said Harry, and his voice was hoarse and unnatural 
as he sank down on the log. There were no stops 
this side of the crossing, as I knew. There would 
be none until—it required little imagination to 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


picture that stop. Our log was blocking the approach 
to the trestle! 

"If—if we only had—the lantern!” I cried. 

Suddenly Harry jumped to his feet. "Quick, 
Frank,” he shouted, "get that auger!” 

Wondering, I tumbled over the fence and after 
what seemed a terribly long search found it. I 
tossed it to Harry, and he began to bore into the 
center of the log, twisting hard with both hands and 
throwing all his weight on the handle. With each 
quick turn the bit sank deeper and the chips curled 
rapidly from the hole. Another whistle, and the 
rumble of the train came to our ears. 

"Make a plug!” he cried as he worked feverishly. 

Seizing a piece of limb at my feet, I began to shave 
it with the axe. 

"Work fast,” he said. "Make a groove in it.” 

I understood his plan now. As I worked, the 
rails began to ring and the rattle of wheels over the 
joints came to our ears; at last with a final blow of the 
axe I cut the plug square off at the top. With my 
pocketknife I hastily cut a groove down the length 
of the plug and leaped to Harry's side. He was 
pouring powder from the horn into the hole; seizing 
the plug from my hand, he jammed it into the hole 
and drove it home with the axe; then he scattered the 
last of the powder thickly about the groove and along 
the top of the log. 

I turned and ran frantically up the track to wave 
both arms as the glow from the headlight fell upon 
us, yet I knew that in the dense fog the engineer 
could scarcely see me. My foot struck a protruding 
crosstie and I fell headlong, but got to my feet again. 
As I did so, the big locomotive loomed up in the fog 


BLACK POWDER 


*9 


not a hundred yards away, and I leaped from the 
track as it bore down upon me. 

I looked back. Harry was bending over the log, 
match in hand. There was a flash, but no report, 
and then a shriek from the engine, mingled with the 
hissing of steam, the roar of pounding wheels and the 
grinding of brakes; and the drivewheels threw back 
showers of sparks as the train bore past me. I knew 
it could not stop in time, and I braced myself for the 
crash. I did not see Harry leap from the track, but 
when it seemed that the engine must be upon the 
log there came a roar that was almost lost in the noise 
of the train. The glow from the headlight went out; 
the long train slid out across the trestle and came to 
a stop. 

Lanterns and voices came toward me. I was sick 
with terror and hardly knew what I did; but I found 
myself running back into the woods bumping into 
the gray shapes of trees, falling, running again, until 
I came to a hill up which I clambered until I dropped 
from exhaustion. There I lay listening to the men 
shouting and running back and forth. It seemed an 
age before there came again a slow puffing and creak¬ 
ing, and the train slowly drew away into the night. 

I did not know what to do, for I dared not go 
home without Harry, and I was afraid to go back. 
But at last I gathered courage and crept back toward 
the spot, calling at first softly, then in loud despair 
as the terrible fear grew upon me. 

At last I heard a faint reply and, running across the 
track, found my brother lying at the bottom of the 
deep ravine that bordered the roadbed on the other 
side. 

I struck a match. His face was blackened, his 
eyebrows and hair singed, but he sat up in a dazed 


20 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


way and called me by name. I was so glad that I 
threw my arms around him. I helped him to his feet, 
and together we climbed back to the scene of the 
explosion. 

There was no sign of the log anywhere, but the 
broken auger lay by the rail where the wheels had 
passed over it. Harry sat down on the end of a tie, 
rested his head on his arms and began to sob weakly. 

“Are you hurt?” I asked anxiously. 

He shook his head. “It's those poor people!” 
he choked. “I saw the cars tumbling and heard 
the people screaming and moaning. O Frank, I 
never knew anything could be so terrible!” 

“Why, Harry, there wasn’t any wreck!” 

“I guess not, but I saw it all just the same.” 

Then Bob came up, wagging his tail, and licked 
our faces, and gradually we both regained compo¬ 
sure. 

It was almost morning when we crept into the 
house and crawled into bed. At breakfast we told 
our story, and father returned with us to the trestle. 
He looked over the ground, noticed a piece of log 
lying in the ditch, and picked up a fragment of the 
powderhorn from between the rails. 

“Better luck than judgment,” was his only com¬ 
ment, and we were still uncertain whether we were 
in for severe punishment. 

“I don’t understand it,” Harry said. “I touched a 
match to the powder, and it flashed in my face, but 
there was no explosion. Then I jumped out of the 
way of the engine, and that was the last I knew about 
anything.” 

“It was the loose powder on top of the log that 
flashed, of course, said father. “The main charge 


BLACK POWDER 


21 


must have hung fire in your improvised touchhole, 
as black powder will sometimes do, especially when 
damp. That was all that saved your life, my son. 
And if it had hung an instant longer, the wreck would 
have been a reality. The log must have blown up 
square in front of the engine as you fell into the ditch. 
It was a chance in a thousand, and it should be an 
awful warning.” 

A railway detective had a long talk with our 
parents. We boys remained at the barn, working on 
the timbers, but as the man left he stopped to shake 
hands with us. 

“It was quick work and a bit of providence,” he 
said. “But don't let it happen again.” 

Then we knew that we were forgiven. 

—W. S. Jennings 
Courtesy “Youth's Companion ” 


Suggestive Study 

1. Did Harry and Frank disobey their Father? 

2. Why should we obey our Parents? 

3. Why did you like or dislike their Story ? 

4. Why should we obey the laws of our Country? 

5. What is a law breaker? 

6. Are we happy when we obey our Parents? 

7. Why should boys and girls be obedient in School? 


22 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


THE INDIAN TRAP 

As you read this interesting Indian story keep in mind some 
interesting incidents or some important facts about which you 
can ask questions. After you have read the story through, go 
back and read it through again rapidly and make out questions 
which will bring out the most important incidents and facts in 
the story. Do not try to include everything in your questions 
but only the important things. 

To the teacher: Have one pupil read his questions and call 
on different pupils to answer his questions. After he is through, 
have the class decide whether he has omitted any important 
incidents or facts of the story, and also whether he has put in 
unimportant details which should have been omitted. 

Peter Cabot rested the stock of his musket on his 
moccasined toe. Against the mud-chinked walls of 
the log trading post a rough placard, hastily lettered 
in charcoal, had been recently posted. 

To ye people of Pemaquid 
NOTICE! 

Be it known to ye settlers of Pemaquid Colony ye following 
reward is hereby offered, to wit: 

Be it known that one bad and vicious Indian, one Snapping 
Turtle, has become a dangerous enemy of ye colony. Not only 
has ye aforementioned Snapping Turtle and his braves ter¬ 
rorized the outpost and slain many of ye unprotected but also 
ye same murderous Indian has thieved upon and robbed ye 
country of valuable game for miles around. 

Hence, after due deliberation ye chief men of Pemaquid 
have banded together, determined to exterminate ye dangerous 
Indian. And that this may be done right speedily a reward of 
twenty-five pieces of silver is offered for the capture of ye afore¬ 
said Snapping Turtle, dead or alive. 

Signed: 

Capt. Fletcher Burlingham, 
For ye Council 


THE INDIAN TRAP 


2 3 


“Well, Master Cabot,” said a voice at Peter's 
elbow, “you seem mightily interested. Perchance 
you believe that this is a message for you* Mayhap 
you think that bad Indians are as easily snared as 
helpless wild game.” There was a thinly veiled sneer 
in the voice. 

Peter turned slowly to the speaker. He beheld the 
rather dandified velvet doublet and insolent coun¬ 
tenance of Master Philip Burlingham, the seventeen- 
year-old son of Captain Burlingham, and a lad of 
Peter's own age. 

Slowly Peter shrugged his broad shoulders. He 
was a well-grown lad, five feet eleven at least, and 
mightily muscled. For when he was not cunningly 
baiting his many snares and bear-pits, he was wield¬ 
ing a broadax out in the big timber. From his height 
he calmly looked down on the slender stripling who 
had addressed him so surlily. 

“Eh, Master Philip Burlingham, mayhap I do 
think upon the trapping of our colony's most 
dangerous foe. Perchance such contemplation on 
my part would be far more in keeping with this neces¬ 
sity than riding a high-spirited horse to no purpose.” 

Philip Burlingham flushed angrily. Thunder, the 
jet-black horse which he rode untiringly, was his pet 
weakness. Philip little resembled the doughty 
captain, his father, in manner, spirits, or daring. 

Two men clad in leather jerkins and stout high 
boots entered. They nodded respectfully to young 
Master Burlingham. To Peter Cabot they spoke 
out heartily, “Good-day, Peter, lad. How are your 
snares and big game pitfalls progressing? Goodman 
Stackpole told us but yesterday that not a man in 
Pemaquid Colony has the otter, muskrat, fox, and 


24 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


bear pelts you have to your credit. He says you 
should be called Peter the Trapper. ,, 

“Mayhap not,” observed young Cabot smilingly. 
“Trapping is but my pastime. My daily work is the 
felling of forest giants—” 

Young Burlingham interrupted him scornfully, 
“See to it, Master Blowhard, that your oxlike mus¬ 
cles do n<?t foolishly strive to pit themselves against 
the felling of a certain redskin, for great trees are by 
contrast an easy prey to brute strength and a great 
ax.” 

“What’s your quarrel, Master Burlingham?” asked 
one of the newcomers, perplexedly. 

“Oh, one gets weary of hearing of the muscular 
prowess of this overgrown fellow. Oxen perform 
feats of strength, but brave men, cavaliers, belong to 
the aristocracy of the old country and remember the 
courage of their ancestors.” 

“Peter Cabot is not lacking in courage,” objected 
one quietly. 

Master Burlingham glared. “You men of Pem- 
aquid know not the difference between physical 
prowess and courage. . . . You all know how much 
I value Thunder. Well sirs, I would right readily 
put up my horse for public sale at the stockade— 
the money to be given for new muskets and musket- 
balls if Master Peter Cabot ever captures Snap¬ 
ping Turtle! Bah! Ridiculous! Balderdash!” 

With a disdainful shrug of his shoulders the cap¬ 
tain’s son strode out angrily. He mounted his black 
horse and disappeared in a cloud of dust down the 
narrow street edged with its roughhewn log houses. 

Peter Cabot observed merely, “A wonderful horse, 
high-spirited and mettlesome.” 


THE INDIAN TRAP 


25 


One of the men remarked significantly, “Aye, 
the horse is mettlesome enough—but in smart con¬ 
trast to her master.” 

Then the newcomers fell to reading the placard 
with its crudely lettered characters. 

Homeward bound, Peter Cabot thought hungrily 
of the offered silver pieces. Yet for once the big, 
good-natured fellow felt strangely angry. , The sharp 
barb of young Burlingham’s taunt still pricked him. 
Deep in his sturdy, honest soul he resented the im¬ 
plication that he was nothing but a great, hulking 
fellow, whose muscles might perform feats of strength 
in the forest, but whose courage in the face of danger 
might become proportionately weak. 

According to his custom, Peter Cabot shouldered 
his great ax at noon and strode away to a distant spot 
beyond the stockade where he hewed lofty trees until 
dusk fell. The rest of the settlement worked well 
to the south where their oxen were already hauling, on 
creaking, solid, wooden wheels, some of the forest 
timber within the stockade. 

Untiringly young Cabot sent his giant strokes 
echoing and re-echoing through the forest as he 
whistled away cheerily. His musket lay against an 
oak tree, several feet away from the young chopper. 

Finally, glancing at the sun, Peter concluded that 
he would split, with his great iron wedge, just one 
more length before returning home. The log he 
selected was fully fourteen feet in length. Scorning 
to cut it shorter, the young giant soon forced a crack 
across its tough top along its entire length. Then 
with a deft blow of his ax he placed the iron wedge 
in the crack about ten inches from the butt end of 
the log. He drove it in smartly, watching the crack 
widen slightly. 


2 6 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 



Without the slightest intimation of their approach, 
two redskins parted the thick underbrush just beyond 
his musket, stepped into the clearing, and raised 
their bows at the busy figure. 

Peter Cabot looked up to behold Snapping Turtle 
and another brave watching him with crafty, mali¬ 
cious eyes. “Put up hands over head,” the guttural 
voice of Snapping Turtle commanded. 

Without the slightest change of expression Peter 
complied, the handle of his ax falling from his hand 
against his knee. 

“Paleface make cry, Snapping Turtle shoot quick,” 
warned the redskin, as the two crept nearer. They 
paused about seven feet from Peter, and midway 
of the log. 

“What do you want with me?” asked Peter 
quietly. 


THE INDIAN TRAP 


27 


“Heap troublesome paleface. Snapping Turtle 
take him many moons off. No trouble traps more.” 

Peter smiled. It was ridiculous that the notorious 
redskin had actually become jealous of his trapping 
spoils. He felt strangely calm, but his mind leaped 
like wildfire. 

“Very well,” he responded quietly. “You may 
kill me, or I will go with you without any fuss, as you 
wish. But,” and he looked craftily at Snapping 
Turtle, then down at the long log with its single 
crack and its iron wedge near the end beside him. 
“But,” he repeated, “it would indeed be very foolish 
for you to kill me or carry me off before I have 
finished splitting this log. Peter Cabot never leaves 
any task unfinished. This the settlers know full well. 
They would see your hand, and mayhap be warned 
and on the lookout for you and the rest of your tribe.” 

Covertly young Cabot watched every expression of 
Snapping Turtle's face. He had been striving to 
learn whether this might be the first act in a con¬ 
templated outbreak against the colony, possibly 
that very night. Snapping Turtle's face plainly 
confirmed this haphazard guess. 

The two Indians talked together. Snapping Turtle 
had been much impressed at the white lad's coolness, 
but more by his suggestion that any sign of what had 
happened to him might give a warning to the colo¬ 
nists. Then the attack they had planned so carefully 
for the night might fail. 

“What you want?” demanded Snapping Turtle. 
“No fool this Indian.” 

“Course not—all I want is for you to help me 
split this log. It won't take a minute.” 

The two redskins stared down at the log, then 


28 COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 

back at their belts where the deadly tomahawks 
showed. 

“How do?” questioned Snapping Turtle, glancing 
at the ax leaning against Peter's knee. 

“I need only one blow on that,” explained Peter, 
pointing at the wedge as it rested in the crack where 
he stood. “If you two will just bend over and pull, 
we can finish it quickly.” 

With infinite cunning Snapping Turtle measured 
the distance from where they stood to where the 
young colonist waited patiently at the end of the log 
about seven feet away. Instantly he saw how impos¬ 
sible it would be for the young paleface, even if he 
plotted treachery, to strike them with his ax from 
where he stood. And, if he made any suspicious 
movement, Snapping Turtle could twirl his light 
weapon far more quickly than the woodsman could 
swing his heavy broadax. 

So the Indian grunted his assent, sticking his 
tomahawk conveniently into the cracked log as he 
stooped before it, his brave beside him. Never taking 
his eyes from Peter’s face, he watched him with cat¬ 
like, unswerving glance. 

Coolly, without apparently regarding the stooping 
redskins, Peter Cabot slowly raised his great ax from 
the ground. Breathlessly the Indians watched him, 
noting with trained skill the direction of his ax as he 
poised it with the head down. He couldn’t possibly 
deflect its movement so that it should strike them as 
they bent over the log about seven feet away. 

“Now,”^said Peter quietly, but with startling dis¬ 
tinctness, “place your fingers in the crack and pull 
with all your might as my ax falls to the wedge.” 

His tone and his poise were matter-of-fact, wholly 


THE INDIAN TRAP 


29 


reassuring. Snapping Turtle and his brave inserted 
their fingers and pulled lustily even as the great ax 
descended with a terrific whack on the iron wedge. 

Instantly loud cries came simultaneously from 
both Indians. 

For—instead of driving the wedge farther into the 
crack to split the log, Peter had dealt it a swift glanc¬ 
ing blow that sent it spinning out the butt end, and 
onto the ground. 

Like the jaws of a great trap the crack in the log 
snapped shut, imprisoning both hands of the strain¬ 
ing Indians. 

Impotently they yelled, tugging at their trapped 
fingers. To no avail. Quietly Peter watched them. 
Strain as they would, the crack bit against their 
fingers, snaring them just as effectively as any steel 
trap could have done. 

Briskly he drove two strong stakes into the ground 
at the feet of the Indians. Then he bound their feet 
together with stout leather thongs from his pocket, 
and lashed their feet to the stakes. Should they by 
any unconceivable, superhuman strength succeed 
in rearing the great log, their bound feet would chain 
them securely. 


A bit later Peter Cabot stopped before the house 
of Captain Fletcher Burlingham. Young Philip 
bade him enter and followed him to the room where 
his father sat before the great stone fireplace. 

“Captain Burlingham,” announced Peter coolly, 
glancing at Philip, “the much-wanted Snapping 
Turtle and one of his braves await your coming in 
yonder forest.” 



3° 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


Philip Burlingham turned very pale. His eyes 
never left Peter Cabot's face. 

The news spread like wildfire, and a goodly com¬ 
pany of colonists rode with Captain Burlingham and 
Peter back into the forest. Here they found the two 
redskins still firmly imprisoned by their hands in 
the split log, which had shut on their fingers so 
suddenly. 

“Well, now, Master Burlingham," said one of the 
men who had heard his boast, “methinks you have 
not only found what you declared to be lacking— 
namely, Master Cabot's high courage, but me¬ 
thinks, by your public vow, you have lost your black 
horse to public auction." 

Without a word Philip Burlingham turned swiftly 
on his heel and proceeded home alone. 

The Penobscots, utterly confounded by the un¬ 
expected capture of their chief, made no attempt 
to attack the colonists either that night or for many 
nights to come. 

Thereafter Peter Cabot, in addition to his well 
justified reputation as a champion trapper, bore the 
epithet of Indian Trapper. 

—F. M. Pettee 

Courtesy of David C. Cook Publishing Co . 

AN INTEREST IN THE BUSINESS 

The boss offered me an interest in the business 
to-day." 

“He did!" 

^ es, he said that if I didn’t take an interest pretty 
soon he’d fire me." 


—Sour Owl 


MOSES DRIVES A BARGAIN 


3 1 


MOSES DRIVES A BARGAIN 

In the following selection, taken from the book called 
The Vicar of Wakefield ., we find Moses, the young son of the 
vicar, or minister of a small community, being sent to a near-by 
fair to sell a horse so that the family might buy a more showy 
horse and carriage and make a better appearance in the little 
village. The wife of the vicar was always trying to push 
her family to the front, and in this case insisted that little 
Moses, who really knew nothing about selling or buying, 
should be given a chance to show how clever he was. You 
will be interested to see what Moses brought back in place 
of the horse and how much his bargain was worth. The story 
is told by the modest and quiet vicar, who was not so sure 
of his son’s ability as was his wife. 

If you do not already know how many articles make a 
gross , find out before reading this story. 

All this conversation, however, was only pre¬ 
paratory to another scheme, and indeed I dreaded 
as much. This was nothing less than that, as we were 
now to hold up our heads a little higher in the world, 
it would be proper to sell the colt, which was grown 
old, at a neighboring fair, and buy a horse that would 
carry single or double upon an occasion, and make a 
pretty appearance at church or upon a visit. This 
at first I opposed stoutly; but it was as stoutly de¬ 
fended. However, as I weakened, my antagonist 
gained strength, till at last it was resolved to part 
with him. 

As the fair happened on the following day, I 
had intentions of going myself; but my wife per¬ 
suaded me that I had got a cold, and nothing could 
prevail upon her to permit me from home. “No, 
my dear,” said she, “our son Moses is a discreet boy, 
and can buy and sell to very good advantage; you 
know all our great bargains are of his purchasing. 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


32 

He always stands out and higgles, and actually tires 
them till he gets a bargain.” 

As I had some opinion of my son’s prudence, 
I was willing enough to entrust him with this com¬ 
mission; and the next morning I found his sisters 
mighty busy in fitting out Moses for the fair: 
trimming his hair, brushing his buckles, and cocking 
his hat with pins. The business of the toilet being 
over, we had at last the satisfaction of seeing him 
mounted upon the colt, with a deal box before him 
to bring home groceries in. He had on a coat made 
of that cloth they call thunder and lightning, which, 
though grown too short, was much too good to be 
thrown away. His waistcoat was of gosling green, 
and his sisters had tied his hair with a broad black 
ribbon. We all followed him several paces from the 
door, howling after him, “Good luck! good luck!” 
till we could see him no longer. 


I began to wonder what could keep our son so 
long at the fair, as it was now almost nightfall. 

“Never mind our son,” cried my wife, “depend 
upon it he knows what he is about. I’ll warrant we’ll 
never see him sell his hen of a rainy day. I have seen 
him buy such bargains as would amaze one. I’ll tell 
you a good story about that, that will make you 
split your sides with laughing. But as I live, yonder 
comes Moses, without a horse, and the box at his 
back.” 

As she spoke, Moses came slowly on foot, and 
sweating under the deal box, which he had strapped 
round his shoulders like a pedlar. 

“Welcome, welcome, Moses! Well, my boy, what 
have you brought us from the fair?” 



MOSES DRIVES A BARGAIN 


33 


“I have brought you myself,” cried Moses, with a 
sly look, and resting the box on the dresser. 

“Ay, Moses,” cried my wife, “that we know; 
but where is the horse?” 

“I have sold him,” cried Moses, “for three pounds 
five shillings and twopence.” 

“Well done, my good boy,” returned she; “I knew 
you would touch them off. Between ourselves, three 
pounds five shillings and twopence is no bad day’s 
work. Come, let us have it then.” 

“I have brought back no money,” cried Moses 
again. “I have laid it all out in a bargain, and here 
it is,” pulling out a bundle from his waistcoat; 
“here they are; a gross of green spectacles, with 
silver rims and shagreen cases.” 

“A gross of green spectacles!” repeated my wife 
in a faint voice. “And you have parted with the 
colt, and brought us back nothing but a gross of 
paltry green spectacles!” 

“Dear mother,” cried the boy, “why won’t you 
listen to reason? I had them a dead bargain, or I 
should not have bought them. The silver rims alone 
will sell for double the money.” 

“A fig for the silver rims!” cried my wife, in a pas¬ 
sion; “I dare swear they won’t sell for above half the 
money at the rate of broken silver, five shillings an 
ounce.” 

“You need be under no uneasiness,” cried I, “a- 
bout selling the rims, for they are not worth sixpence, 
for I perceive they are only copper varnished over.” 

’“What!” cried my wife, “not silver! the rims not 
silver!” 

“No,” cried I, “no more silver than your sauce- 

>y 

pan. 


34 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


“And so,” returned she, “we have parted with the 
colt, and have only got a gross of green spectacles, 
with copper rims and shagreen cases! A murrain 
take such trumpery! The blockhead has been 
imposed upon, and should have known his company 
better. ,, 

“There, my dear,” cried I, “you are wrong, he 
should not have known them at all.” 

“Marry, hang the idiot!” returned she, cc to bring 
me such stuff; if I had them I would throw them in 
the fire.” 

“There again you are wrong, my dear,” cried I, 
“for though they be copper, we will keep them by us, 
as copper spectacles, you know, are better than 
nothing.” 

By this time the unfortunate Moses was un¬ 
deceived. He now saw that he had been imposed 
upon by a prowling sharper, who, observing his 
figure, had marked him for an easy prey. I there¬ 
fore asked the circumstances of his deception. 
He sold the horse, it seems, and walked the fair in 
search of another. A reverend-looking man brought 
him to^ a tent, under pretense of having one to sell. 

Here, continued Moses, “we met another man, 
very well dressed, who desired to borrow twenty 
pounds upon these, saying that he wanted money, 
and would dispose of them for a third of the value. 
The first gentleman, who pretended to be my friend 
whispered me to buy them, and cautioned me not to 
let so good an offer pass. I sent for Mr. Flam borough, 
and they talked him up as finely as they did me, and 
so at last we were persuaded to buy the two gross 
between us.” 


—Oliver Goldsmith 


AN AX TO GRIND 


35 


SPEED TEST II 

At a signal from your teacher you are to start reading 
the following story, which has given us a much-used expression 
in our everyday life. Do you now know what we mean when 
we say, “He must have an ax to grind”? If not, read with the 
idea of finding out this meaning and be able to tell the story. 

Have a pencil ready, put your hand over the story which 
follows so that you may all start reading at the same time, 
and watch your teacher for the signal to start reading. When 
she says, “Begin,” remove your hand and read as rapidly as you 
can until she says, “One minute.” At this signal put a light 
check mark (vO after the word you were reading when she 
announced the time and then go on reading rapidly to the 
end of the selection. 

Count the number of words read the first minute and com¬ 
pare this number with your average words per minute after 
Speed Test I, page 5. Have you improved? Your teacher 
will put this reading rate on your record sheet for further 
comparisons. 


AN AX TO GRIND 

When I was a little boy, I remember, one cold 
winter morning, I was accosted by a smiling man with 
an ax on his shoulder. “My pretty boy,” said he, 
“has your father a grindstone?” ' 

“Yes, sir,” said I. 

“You are a fine little fellow,” said he. “Will you 
let me grind my ax on it?” 

Pleased with the compliment of “fine little fellow,” 
“Oh, yes, sir,” I answered. “It is down in the shop.” 

“And will you, my man,” said he, patting me on 
the head, “get me a little hot water?” 

How could I refuse? I ran, and soon brought a 
kettleful. 

“How old are you?—and what's your name?” 


3 6 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


continued he, without waiting for a reply. “I’m 
sure you are one of the finest lads that I have ever 
seen. Will you just turn a few minutes for me?” 

Tickled with the flattery, like a little fool, I went to 
work, and bitterly did I rue the day. It was a new 
ax, and I toiled and tugged till I was almost tired to 
death. The school bell rang, and I could not get 
away. My hands were blistered, and the ax was 
not half ground. 

At length, however, it was sharpened, and the 
man turned to me with, “Now, you little rascal, 
you've played truant! Scud to school, or you'll 
rue it!'' 

“Alas!" thought I, “it was hard enough to turn a 
grindstone this cold day, but now to be called a little 
rascal is too much." 

It sank deep into my mind, and often have I 
thought of it since. 

•—Benjamin Franklin 


MEMORIZING A POEM 

Poems may be committed to memory in several ways. 
You may learn one line or one stanza at a time by saying it 
over and over until it is learned and then go on to the next 
line or the next stanza* 

Experiments have shown that most people can memorize 
a poem in the shortest time by reading the whole poem through, 
time after time, until it is all learned. After it has been read 
through several times, you will know parts of it before you 
can recite the whole poem. When you come to a part that 
you know, look off the book and then look back on the book 
when you come to a line that you do not remember. Continue 
to read the whole poem through until you can recite it without 
glancing at your book. 


THE DAFFODILS 


37 


In learning a poem always read it the way you want to 
say it when you have it committed to memory, because poor 
expression used in learning a poem may cling to it after it 
is learned. 

Memorize the following poems by the method described 
above. 


THE DAFFODILS 

I wandered lonely as a cloud 

That floats on high o'er vales and hills, 

When all at once I saw a crowd, 

A host of golden daffodils, 

Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. 

Continuous as the stars that shine 
And twinkle on the Milky Way, 

They stretched in never-ending line 
Along the margin of a bay; 

Ten thousand saw I at a glance, 

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. 

The waves beside them danced, but they 
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee: 

A poet could not but be gay 
In such a jocund company. 

I gazed—and gazed,—but little thought 
What wealth the show to me had brought: 

For oft, when on my couch I lie 
In vacant or in pensive mood, 

They flash upon that inward eye 
Which is the bliss of solitude; 

And then my heart with pleasure fills, 

And dances with the daffodils. 

—William Wordsworth 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


THE BROOK 

I come from haunts of coot and hern, 
I make a sudden sally, 

And sparkle out among the fern, 

To bicker down a valley. 

By thirty hills I hurry down, 

Or slip between the ridges, 

By twenty thorps, a little town, 

And half a hundred bridges. 

Till last by Philip’s farm I flow 
To join the brimming river, 

For men may come and men may go 
But I go on forever. 

I chatter over stony ways, 

In little sharps and trebles, 

I bubble into eddying bays, 

I babble on the pebbles. 

With many a curve my banks I fret 
By many a field and fallow, 

And many a fairy foreland set 
With willow-weed and mallow. 

I chatter, chatter, as I flow 
To join the brimming river, 

For men may come and men may go. 
But I go on forever. 

I wind about, and in and out, 

With here a blossom sailing, 

And here and there a lusty trout, 

And here and there a grayling. 


THE BROOK 


39 


And here and there a foamy hake 
Upon me, as I travel 
With many a silvery waterbreak 
Above the golden gravel, 

And draw them all along, and flow 
To join the brimming river, 

For men may come and men may go, 
But I go on forever. 

I steal by lawns and grassy plots, 

I slide by hazel covers, 

I move the sweet forget-me-nots 
That grow for happy lovers. 

I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance. 

Among my skimming swallows, 

I make the netted sunbeam dance 
Against my sandy shallows. 

I murmur under moon and stars 
In brambly wildernesses, 

I linger by my shingly bars, 

I loiter round my cresses, 

And out again I curve and flow 
To join the brimming river, 

For men may come and men may go, 
But I go on forever. 

—Alfred Tennyson 


“Well, Bill,” said Uncle George, “how do you 
stand in school these days?” 

“In the corner mostly,” answered Bill. 

— Boys' Life 



4 o 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


ROBERT OF LINCOLN 

You will see that bobolink is really a shortened form or a 
nickname for Robert of Lincoln, which is very dignified sound¬ 
ing. The bobolink is, as you know, a happy little bird that 
sings his name to all who pass his home, which is usually 
built in the grass or flowers. He seems very proud of himself 
and his attractive appearance. 

Read the poem through once to enjoy the rhythm of it. 
Then read it a second time, having in mind the following 
points; 

1. Describe his dress and manner. 

2. How does his wife’s dress compare with his? 

3. Why is she called his Quaker wife? 

4. What can you say of her “song”? 

5. What does Bryant tell us about her eggs? 

6. When does Robert of Lincoln change his suit? 

7. What change does his family cause in his manner? 

8. When will he “pipe that merry old strain” again? 

The third and fourth times you read the poem you should 

read it aloud so that you can practice imitating the bob-o’-link’s 
call. See how well you can do this. 

The class should note to see who they think reads it best. 


I 

Merrily swinging on brier and weed, 
Near to the nest of his little dame, 
Over the mountain-side or mead, 

Robert of Lincoln is telling his name: 
“Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-lmk, 

Spink, spank, spink; 

Snug and safe is that nest of ours. 
Hidden among the summer flowers, 
Chee, chee, chee.” 


ROBERT OF LINCOLN 


4i 


2 

Robert of Lincoln is gayly dresst, 

Wearing a bright black wedding-coat; 
White are his shoulders, and white his crest. 
Hear him call in his merry note: 
“Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link, 

Spink, spank, spink; 

Look what a nice new coat is mine, 

Sure, there was never a bird so fine. 

Chee, chee, chee.” 


Robert of Lincoln’s Quaker wife, 

Pretty and quiet, with plain brown wings, 
Passing at home a patient life, 

Broods in the grass while her husband sings: 
“Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link, 

Spink, spank, spink; 

Brood, kind creature; you need not fear 
Thieves and robbers while I am here. 

Chee, chee, chee.” 

4 

Modest and shy as a nun is she, 

One weak chirp is her only note. 

Braggart and prince of braggarts is he, 
Pouring boasts from his little throat: 
“Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link, 

Spink, spank, spink; 

Never was I afraid of man; 

Catch me, cowardly knaves, if you can! 

Chee, chee, chee.” 


Six white eggs on a bed of hay, 

Flecked with purple, a pretty sight! 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 

There, as the mother sits all day, 

Robert is singing with all his might: 
“Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link. 

Spink, spank, spink; 

Nice good wife, that never goes out, 
Keeping house while I frolic about. 

Chee, chee, chee.” 

6 

Soon as the little ones chip the shell, 

Six wide mouths are open for food* 
Robert of Lincoln bestirs him well, 
Gathering seeds for the hungry brood. 
“Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link, 

Spink, spank, spink; 

This new life is likely to be 
Hard for a gay young fellow like me. 
Chee, chee, chee.” 

7 

Robert of Lincoln at length is made 
Sober with work, and silent with care; 
OIF is his holiday garment laid, 

Half forgotten that merry air: 
“Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link, 

Spink, spank, spink; 

Nobody knows but my mate and I 
Where our nest and our nestlings lie. 
Chee, chee, chee.” 


8 

Summer wanes; the children are grown; 

Fun and frolic no more he knows; 
Robert of Lincoln’s a humdrum crone; 
Off he flies, and we sing as he goes: 


ROBERT OF LINCOLN 


43 


“Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link, 

Spink, spank, spink; 

When you can pipe that merry old strain, 
Robert of Lincoln, come back again. 

Chee, chee, chee.” 

—William Cullen Bryant 

A WORD PLACEMENT TEST 

Number the lines on your paper from i to 12. Write your 
name on the first line and your grade on the second line. 

Below are the groups of words that can be arranged to make 
good sentences. 

When they are arranged some will be true and some false. 
If true, write the word true after the sentence. If false, write 
the word false after the sentence. 

1. Chicago large city is a. 

2. The animal an is horse. 

3. Peaches bushes on grow. 

4. Boys not should girls and go school to. 

5. Necessity bread is. 

6. Abraham Lincoln first President our was. 

7. Books good companions are for children. 

8. Ice winter and snow in come. 

9. Red are blue colors and. 

10. Chicago on is Lake Michigan. 


44 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


THE HAPPY PRINCE 

“The Happy Prince” is a favorite selection with public 
readers and with audiences. You are to read the story through 
carefully but rapidly for your own enjoyment, and then practice 
reading it aloud so as to present it to the class or to your parents. 
In reading aloud, try to look away from your book and directly 
at your hearers as much as possible, for we all like to feel 
that we are being “talked” to by a reader and not simply 
“read” to. 

High above the city, on a tall column, stood 
the statue of the Happy Prince. He was gilded all 
over with thin leaves of fine gold, for eyes he had 
two bright sapphires, and a large red ruby glowed 
on his sword-hilt. 

One night there flew over the city a little Swallow. 
His friends had gone away to Egypt six weeks before, 
but he had stayed behind, for he was in love with the 
most beautiful Reed. He had met her early in the 
spring as he was flying down the river after a big 
yellow moth, and had been so attracted by her slender 
waist that he had stopped to talk to her. 

After the other swallows had gone he felt lonely, 
and began to tire of his lady-love. “She has no 
conversation,” he said, “and I am afraid that she is 
a coquette, for she is always flirting with the wind.” 
And certainly, whenever the wind blew, the Reed 
made the most graceful curtsies. “I admit that she 
is domestic, he continued, “but I love traveling, 
and my wife, consequently, should love traveling 
also.” 

“Will you come away with me?” he said finally to 
her; but the Reed shook her head, she was so at¬ 
tached to her home. 

You have been trifling with me,” he cried. 


THE HAPPY PRINCE 


45 


“I am off to the Pyramids. Good-bye!” and he flew 
away. 

All day long he flew, and at night-time he arrived 
at the city. “Where shall I put up?” he said; “I 
hope the town has made preparations.” 

Then he saw the statue on the tall column. T 
will put up there,” he cried; “it is a fine position, 
with plenty of fresh air.” So he alighted just be¬ 
tween the feet of the Happy Prince. 

“I have a golden bedroom,” he said softly to him¬ 
self as he looked round, and he prepared to go to 
sleep; but just as he was putting his head under his 
wing a large drop of water fell on him. 

“What a curious thing!” he cried; “there is not a 
single cloud in the sky, the stars are quite clear 
and bright, and yet it is raining. The climate in 
the north of Europe is really dreadful. The Reed used 
to like the rain, but that was merely her selfishness.” 

Then another drop fell. 

“What is the use of a statue if it cannot keep the 
rain off?” he said; “I must look for a good chimney¬ 
pot,” and he determined to fly away. 

But before he had opened his wings, a third 
drop fell, and he looked up, and saw—Ah! what did 
he see? 

The eyes of the Happy Prince were filled with tears, 
and tears were running down his golden cheeks. 
His face was so beautiful in the moonlight that the 
little Swallow was filled with pity. 

“Who are you?” he said. 

“I am the Happy Prince.” 

“Why are you weeping then?” asked the Swallow; 
“you have quite drenched me.” 

“When I was alive and had a human heart,” 
answered the statue, “I did not know what tears 


4 6 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


were, for I lived in the Palace of Sans-Souci [without 
care], where sorrow is not allowed to enter. In the 
daytime I played with my companions in the garden, 
and in the evening I led the dance in the Great Hall. 
Round the garden ran a very lofty wall, but I never 
cared to ask what lay beyond it, everything about me 
was so beautiful. My courtiers called me the Happy 
Prince, and happy indeed I was, if pleasure be hap¬ 
piness. So I lived, and so I died. And now that 
I am dead they have set me up here so high that I 
can see all the ugliness and all the misery of my city, 
and though my heart is made of lead yet I cannot 
choose but weep.” 

“What! is he not of solid gold?” said the Swallow to 
himself. He was too polite to make any personal 
remarks out loud. 

“Far away,” continued the statue in a low musical 
voice, “far away in a little street there is a poor 
house. One of the windows is open, and through it 
I can see a woman seated at the table. Her face is 
thin and worn, and she has coarse, red hands, all 
pricked by the needle, for she is a seamstress. She 
is embroidering passion-flowers on a satin gown for 
the loveliest of the Queen's maids-of-honor to wear 
at the next Court-ball. In a bed in the corner of the 
room her little boy is lying ill. He has a fever, and 
is asking for oranges. His mother has nothing to 
give him but river water, so he is crying. Swallow, 
Swallow, little Swallow, will you not bring her the 
ruby out of my sword-hilt? My feet are fastened to 
this pedestal and I cannot move.” 

I ar P waited for in Egypt,” said the Swallow. 

‘ My friends are flying up and down the Nile, and 
talking to the large lotus-flowers. Soon they will go 
to sleep in the tomb of the great King. The King 


THE HAPPY PRINCE 


47 


is there himself in his painted coffin. He is wrapped 
in yellow linen, and embalmed with spices. Round 
his neck is a chain of pale green jade, and his hands 
are like withered leaves.” 

“Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” said the 
Prince, “will you not stay with me for one night, 
and be my messenger? The boy is so thirsty, and 
the mother so sad.” 

“I don't think I like boys,” answered the Swallow. 
“Last summer, when I was staying on the river, 
there were two rude boys, the miller’s sons, who were 
always throwing stones at me. They never hit me, 
of course; we swallows fly far too well for that, and 
besides, I come of a family famous for its agility; 
but still, it was a mark of disrespect.” 

But the Happy Prince looked so sad that the little 
Swallow was sorry. “It is very cold here,” he said; 
“but I will stay with you for one night, and be your 
messenger.” 

“Thank you, little Swallow,” said the Prince. 

So the Swallow picked out the ruby from the 
Prince’s sword, and flew away with it in his beak over 
the roofs of the town. 

He passed by the cathedral tower, where the white 
marble angels were sculptured. He passed by the 
palace and heard the sound of dancing. A beautiful 
girl came out on the balcony with her lover. “How 
wonderful the stars are,” he said to her, “and how 
wonderful is the power of love!” 

“I hope my dress will be ready in time for the 
State-ball,” she answered; “I have ordered passion¬ 
flowers to be embroidered on it; but the seamstresses 
are so lazy.” 

He passed over the river, and saw the lanterns 


4 8 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


hanging to the masts of the ships. At last he came 
to the poor house and looked in. The boy was tossing 
feverishly on his bed, and the mother had fallen 
asleep, she was so tired. In he hopped, and laid 
the great ruby on the table beside the woman’s 
thimble. Then he flew gently round the bed, fanning 
the boy’s forehead with his wings. “How cool I 
feel,” said the boy. “I must be getting better”; 
and he sank into a delicious slumber. 

Then the Swallow flew back to the Happy Prince, 
and told him what he had done. “It is curious,” he 
remarked, “but I feel quite warm now, although it 
is so cold.” 

“That is because you have done a good action,” 
said the Prince. And the little Swallow began to 
think, and then he fell asleep. Thinking always 
made him sleepy. 

When day broke he flew down to the river and had 
a bath. “To-night I go to Egypt,” he said, and he 
was in high spirits at the prospect. He visited all the 
public monuments, and sat a long time on top of the 
church steeple. Wherever he went the sparrows 
chirruped and said to each other, “What a dis¬ 
tinguished stranger!” so he enjoyed himself very 
much. 

When the moon rose he flew back to the Happy 
Prince. “Have you any commissions for Egypt?” 
he cried, “I am just starting.” 

“Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” said the 
Prince, “will you not stay with me one night longer? 
Far away across the city I see a young man in a gar¬ 
ret. He is leaning over a desk covered with papers, 
and in a tumbler by his side there is a bunch of 
withered violets. His hair is brown and crisp, and 


THE HAPPY PRINCE 


49 


his lips are red as a pomegranate, and he has large 
and dreamy eyes. He is trying to finish a play for 
the Director of the Theatre, but he is too cold to 
write any more. There is no fire in the grate, and 
hunger has made him faint.” 

“I will wait one night longer,” said the Swallow, 
who really had a good heart. “Shall I take him 
another ruby. 

“Alas! I have no ruby now,” said the Prince; 
“my eyes are all that I have left. They are made of 
rare sapphires, which were brought out of India a 
thousand years ago. Pluck out one of them and take 
it to him. He will sell it to the jeweller, and buy 
food and firewood, and finish his play.” 

“Dear Prince,” said the Swallow, “I cannot do 
that”; and he began to weep. 

“Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” said the 
Prince, “do as I command you.” 

So the Swallow plucked out the Prince's eye, and 
flew away to the student's garret. It was easy enough 
to get in, as there was a hole in the roof. Through 
this he darted, and came into the room. The young 
man had his head buried in his hands, so he did not 
hear the flutter of the bird's wings, and when he 
looked up he found the beautiful sapphire lying on 
the withered violets. 

“I am beginning to be appreciated,” he cried; 
“this is from some great admirer. Now I can finish 
my play,” and he looked quite happy. 

The next day the Swallow flew down to the harbor. 
He sat on the mast of a large vessel and watched 
the sailors hauling big chests out of the hold with 
ropes. “I am going to Egypt!” cried the Swallow, 
but nobody minded, and when the moon rose he 
flew back to the Happy Prince. 


50 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


“1 am come to bid you good-bye, he cried. 

“Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow/’ said the 
Prince, “will you not stay with me one night longer?” 

“It is winter,” answered the Swallow, “and the chill 
snow will soon be here. In Egypt the sun is warm on 
the green palm-trees, and the crocodiles lie in the 
mud and look lazily about them.” 

“In the square below,” said the Happy Prince, 
“there stands a little match-girl. She has let her 
matches fall in the gutter, and they are all spoiled. 
Her father will beat her if she does not bring home 
some money, and she is crying. She has no shoes or 
stockings, and her little head is bare. Pluck out my 
other eye, and give it to her, and her father will not 
beat her.” 

“I will stay with you one night longer,” said the 
Swallow, “but I cannot pluck out your eye. You 
would be quite blind then.” 

“Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” said the 
Prince, “do as I command you.” 

So he plucked out the Prince’s other eye, and 
darted down with it. He swooped past the match- 
girl, and slipped the jewel into the palm of her hand. 
“What a lovely bit of glass,” cried the little girl; 
and she ran home laughing. 

Then the Swallow came back to the Prince. 
“You are blind now,” he said, “so I will stay with 
you always.” 

“No, little Swallow,” said the poor Prince, “you 
must go away to Egypt.” 

“I will stay with you always,” said the Swallow, 
and he slept at the Prince’s feet. 

Next day the Swallow flew over the great city, 
and saw the rich making merry in their beautiful 


THE HAPPY PRINCE 


5i 


houses, while the beggars were sitting at the gates. 
He flew into dark lanes, and saw the white faces of 
starving children looking out listlessly at the black 
streets. Under the archway of a bridge two little 
boys were lying in one another's arms to try to keep 
themselves warm. 

Then he flew back and told the Prince what he had 
seen. 

“I am covered with fine gold," said the Prince; 
“you must take it off*, leaf by leaf, and give it to my 
poor; the living always think that gold can make 
them happy." 

Leaf after leaf of the fine gold the Swallow picked 
off, till the Happy Prince looked quite dull and grey. 
Leaf after leaf of the fine gold he brought to the poor, 
and the children's faces grew rosier, and they laughed 
and played games in the street. “We have bread 
now!" they cried. 

Then the snow came, and after the snow came the 
frost. The streets looked as if they were made of 
silver, they were so bright and glistening; long 
icicles like crystal daggers hung down from the eaves 
of the houses, everybody went about in furs, and the 
little boys wore scarlet caps and skated on the ice. 

The poor little Swallow grew colder and colder, 
but he would not leave the Prince, for he loved him 
too well. He picked up crumbs outside the baker’s 
door, and tried to keep himself warm by flapping his 
wings. 

But at last he knew that he was going to die. He 
had just enough strength to fly up to the Prince’s 
shoulder once more. “Good-bye, dear Prince," 
he murmured, “will you let me kiss your hand?" 

“I am glad that you are going to Egypt at last, 


52 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


little Swallow,” said the Prince, “You have stayed 
too long here; but you must kiss me on the lips, for 
I love you.” 

“It is not to Egypt that I am going,” said the 
Swallow. “I am going to the House of Death. 
Death is the brother of Sleep, is he not?” 

And he kissed the Happy Prince on the lips, and 
fell down dead at his feet. 

At that moment a curious crack sounded inside the 
statue, as if something had suddenly broken. The 
fact is that the leaden heart had snapped right in 
two. It certainly was a dreadfully hard frost. 

Early the .next morning the Mayor was walking 
in the square below in company with the Town 
Councillors. As they passed the column he looked 
up at the statue: “Dear me! how shabby the Happy 
Prince looks!” he said. 

“How shabby indeed!” cried the Town Council¬ 
lors, who always agreed with the Mayor; and they 
went up to look at it. 

The ruby has fallen out of his sword, his eyes are 
gone, and he is golden no longer,” said the Mayor; 
“in fact, he is little better than a beggar.” 

Little better than a beggar,” said the Town Coun¬ 
cillors. 

“And here is actually a dead bird at his feet!” 
continued the Mayor. “We must really issue a 
proclamation that birds are not to be allowed to die 
here. And the Town Clerk made a note of the 
suggestion. 

So they pulled down the statue of the Happy 
n ^ ce ;, be is no longer beautiful he is no longer 
useful, said the Art Professor at the University. 

Then they melted the statue in a furnace, and the 


THE HAPPY PRINCE 


53 


Mayor held a meeting of the Corporation to decide 
what was to be done with the metal. “We must 
have another statue, of course,” he said, “and it 
shall be a statue of myself.” 

“Of myself,” said each of the Town Councillors, 
and they quarreled. When I last heard of them 
they were quarreling still. 

“What a strange thing!” said the overseer at 
the foundry. “This broken lead heart will not melt 
in the furnace. We must throw it away.” So they 
threw it on a dust heap where the dead Swallow 
was also lying. 

# “Bring me the two most precious things in the 
city,” said God to one of His Angels; and the Angel 
brought Him the leaden heart and the dead bird. 

“You have rightly chosen,” said God, “for in 
my garden of Paradise this little bird shall sing 
for evermore, and in my city of gold the Happy 
Prince shall praise me.” 

—Oscar Wilde 


THE NATIONAL SALUTE 

I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the Republic for 
which it stands: one Nation indivisible, with liberty and 
justice for all. 

HOW TO GIVE THE SALUTE TO THE FLAG 

Right hand extended, palm downward, to a line with the 
forehead and close to it. Standing thus, all repeat the pledge 
slowly. At the words “to my flag” the right hand is extended 
gracefully, palm upward toward the flag and remains in this 
position till the end of the pledge, whereupon the hand im¬ 
mediately drops to the side. 


54 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


THE ENCHANTED HORSE 

The Nevrouz, or New Year’s Day, is an ancient 
and solemn feast, which has been continued from 
the time of idolatry throughout all Persia, and 
celebrated with great rejoicings, not only in the 
large cities, but in every little town, village, and 
hamlet. 

On one of these feast days, after the most skilful 
inventors of the country had come to Shiraz, where 
the king then lived, and had entertained the king 
and the people with their shows, just as the people 
were going home an Indian appeared at the foot 
of the throne, with an artificial horse richly bridled 
and saddled. The horse was so well made that at 
first sight he looked like a living horse. 

The Indian bowed low before the throne and, 
pointing to the horse, said to the king, “Though, 
sir, I present myself last before your majesty, yet 
I can assure you that nothing that has been shown 
to-day is so wonderful as this horse, on which I beg 
your majesty will be pleased to cast your eyes.” 

“I see nothing more in the horse,” said the king, 
“than the natural appearance the workman has 
given him, which the skill of another workman 
may do as well or better.” 

“Sir,” replied the Indian, “it is not for his outward 
form and appearance that I recommend my horse 
to your majesty, but for the use I know how to 
make of him, and what any other person, when 
I have communicated the secret to him, may do 
as well. Whenever I mount him, be it where it 
will, if I wish to transport myself through the air 
to the most distant part of the world, I can do it 
in a very short time. This, sir, is the wonder of 


THE ENCHANTED HORSE 


55 


my horse—a wonder which nobody ever heard of, 
and which I offer to show your majesty, if you 
command me.” 

The King of Persia, who was fond of everything 
that was curious, and, after the many wonderful 
things he had seen and desired to see, had never 
seen or heard of anything that came up to this, told 
the Indian that he was ready to see him perform 
what he had promised. 

The Indian immediately put his foot into the 
stirrup and mounted his horse. When he had got 
the other foot in the stirrup and had fixed himself 
in the saddle, he asked the King of Persia where 
he was pleased to send him. 

About nine miles from Shiraz there was a high 
mountain which could be seen from the large square 
before the palace. “Do you see that mountain ?” 
said the king, pointing to the hill. “Go to it; it is 
not a great way off, but it is far enough for me to 
judge of the haste you can make in going and coming. 
But, because it is not possible for the eye to follow 
you so far, for a certain sign that you have been 
there I expect you to bring me a branch of a palm 
tree that grows at the bottom of the hill.” 

The King of Persia had no sooner said this than 
the Indian turned a peg which was in the hollow 
of the horse’s neck just by the pummel of the saddle. 
In an instant the horse rose off the ground and 
carried his rider into the air like lightning, to such 
a height that those who had the strongest sight 
could not see him. In less than a quarter of an 
hour they saw him come back with a palm branch 
in his hand. Before he came quite down, he took 
two or three turns in the air and then descended 


♦ 


56 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 



The Enchanted H$rse 




THE ENCHANTED HORSE 


57 


upon the same spot of ground whence he had set 
off, without receiving the least shock from the horse. 

The King of Persia, who was an eyewitness, with 
admiration and astonishment, of this unheard-of 
feat which the Indian had exhibited, wished very 
much to possess the horse. “To judge of your horse 
by his outward appearance,” said he to the Indian, 
“I did not think him so much worth my considera¬ 
tion. As you have showed me his merits, I am 
obliged to you for undeceiving me; and, to show 
you how much I esteem him, I will buy him of you, 
if he is to be sold.” 

“Sir,” replied the Indian, “I never doubted that 
your majesty, who has the character of being the 
most judicious prince on earth, would set a just 
value on my work as soon as I had shown you why 
he was worthy of your attention. I also foresaw 
that you would not only admire him and commend 
him, but would desire to have him.” 

“Your majesty will not be displeased,” continued 
the Indian, “if I tell you that I did not buy this 
horse, but obtained him of the inventor by giving 
him my only daughter in marriage, and promising 
at the same time never to sell him; but, if I parted 
with him, to exchange him for something that I 
should like. I beg of you not to be angry with me 
if I have the boldness to tell you that I cannot give 
you my horse except on receiving the hand of the 
princess, your daughter, as my wife. This is the 
only price at which I can give him up.” 

The king asked his son, the prince and heir to 
the throne, to examine the horse and try him before 
he made a bargain with the Indian. The Indian 
showed the prince how to guide and manage the 
horse. 

The prince mounted the horse with wonderful 


58 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


skill, without the Indian assisting him, and no 
sooner had he got his feet in both stirrups than, 
without waiting for the Indian's advice, he turned 
the peg he had seen him use, and mounted into the 
air as quick as an arrow shot out of a bow by the 
stoutest and most skilful archer. In a few moments 
the king and the people lost sight of him. The 
Indian, alarmed at what had happened, fell down 
before the throne and forced the king to pay atten¬ 
tion to what he said. “Sir,” said he, “your majesty 
yourself saw that the prince was so hasty that he 
would not permit me to give him the necessary 
instructions how to govern the horse. He was too 
willing to show his cleverness, but knows not how 
to turn the horse round and bring him back again. 
Therefore, sir, the favor I ask of your majesty is 
not to make me accountable for whatever accidents 
may befall him.” 

This speech of the Indian very much surprised 
and worried the King of Persia, who saw the danger 
his son was in if, as the Indian said, there was 
another secret to bring him back again different 
from that which carried him away, and asked, in 
a passion, why he did not call him back the moment 
he went. 

Sir, answered the Indian, “your majesty saw 
as well as I with what swiftness the horse and the 
prince flew away. The surprise in which I then 
was, and still am, deprived me of the use of my 
speech. If I could have spoken, he had got too 
far to hear me. . If he had heard me, he knew not 
the secret to bring him back, which, through his 
impatience,^he would not wait to learn. But, sir,” 
added he, there is room for hope that the prince, 
when he finds himself unable to return, will find 


THE ENCHANTED HORSE 


59 


another peg. As soon as he turns that, the horse 
will cease to rise and will descend to the ground, 
and he may turn him to whatever place he pleases 
by guiding him with the bridle.” 

“Be that as it will,” replied the King of Persia, “as 
I cannot depend upon the assurance you give me, 
your head shall answer for my son's life if he does 
not return safe and sound in three days' time, or 
I hear certainly that he is alive.'' Then he ordered 
his officers to put the Indian in prison. 

In the meantime the prince was carried through 
the air with great swiftness, and in less than an 
hour’s time he had got so high that he could not 
distinguish anything on the earth. It was then 
that he began to think of returning from whence 
he came, and thought to do it by turning the same 
peg the contrary way, and pulling the bridle at the 
same time. But when he found that the horse 
still rose with the same swiftness, his astonishment 
was extreme. He turned the peg several times one 
way and the other, but all in vain. He then examined 
the horse's head and neck with great attention, 
and found behind the horse's right ear another 
peg, smaller than the other. He turned that peg, 
and immediately the horse began to descend, but 
not so swiftly. 

At last, after midnight, the horse alighted and 
stopped. The prince dismounted very faint and 
hungry, having eaten nothing since the morning, 
when he came out of the palace with his father to 
assist at the festival. The first thing he had to do 
in this darkness of the night was to find out where 
he was. He found himself to be on the porch of a 
grand palace. At last he found a flight of stairs which 
led down into the palace, the door of which was 


6o 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


half open. The prince went softly down the stairs, 
that he might not wake anybody, and, when he came 
to a landing place on the staircase, he found open 
the door of a great hall that had a light in it. 

The prince stopped at the door and, listening, 
heard no other noise than the snoring of some 
people who were fast asleep. He advanced a little 
into the room and by the light of a lantern saw 
that the persons whom he heard snore were black 
chamberlains, with bare swords laid by them, 
which was enough to inform him that this was the 
guard chamber of some queen or princess. 

In the next room to this was the princess, as 
appeared by the light he saw, the door being open, 
and a thin silken curtain hanging before the doorway. 
The prince advanced on tiptoe without waking the 
chamberlains. He put by the curtain and looked 
in. The princess lay asleep on a sofa. 

The prince immediately fell in love with her. He 
gently woke her, and the princess at once opened 
her eyes without fear. Seeing the prince kneeling 
before her, she asked him what was the matter. 

The prince made use of this favorable moment, 
bowed his head down to the ground, and, rising, 
said, “Most noble princess, by the most extraordinary 
and wonderful adventure imaginable, you see here 
at your feet a prince, the son of the King of Persia, 
who was yesterday morning with his father at his 
court, at the celebration of a solemn feast, and is 
now in a strange country in danger of his life, if 
you have not the goodness and generosity to give 
him your assistance and protection.” 

This princess, to whom the prince had so for¬ 
tunately addressed himself, was the Princess of 


THE ENCHANTED HORSE 


61 


Bengal, eldest daughter of the king of that kingdom, 
who had built this palace at a small distance from 
his capital, where she went to enjoy the country. 
After she had heard the prince, she replied with 
kindness: “Prince, you are not in a barbarous 
country; take courage. Hospitality, humanity, 
and politeness are to be met with in the kingdom 
of Bengal as well as in that of Persia. It is not I 
who grant you the protection you ask; you may 
find it not only in my palace, but throughout the 
whole kingdom.” 

The Prince of Persia would have thanked the 
Princess of Bengal for her kindness, but she would 
not give him leave to speak. “Notwithstanding 
my desire,” said she, “to know by what miracle 
you have come here from the capital of Persia in 
so short a time, and by what enchantment you have 
been able to come to my apartment, and to have 
escaped the vigilance of my guards, as you must 
want something to eat, I will give orders for my 
women to bring you food and show you to a room 
where you may rest after your fatigue.” 

The princess’ women each took a wax candle, of 
which there were numbers in the room, and, after 
the prince had taken leave very respectfully, they 
went before him and conducted him into a handsome 
chamber. Here they brought him all sorts of meat, 
and, when he had eaten, they removed the table 
and left him to sleep. 

In the meantime the Princess of Bengal was so 
struck with the intelligence, politeness, and other 
good qualities which she had discovered in that 
short conversation with the prince that she could 
not sleep. When her women came into her room 


62 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


again, she asked them if they had taken care of 
him,* and if he wanted anything, and particularly 
what they thought of him. 

The women answered: “We do not knew what 
you may think of him, but for our part we think 
that you would be very happy if the king, your 
father, would marry you to so fine a prince, for 
there is not a prince in all the kingdom of Bengal 
to be compared to him, nor can we hear that any 
of the neighboring princes are worthy of you.” 

The next day the princess visited the prince, and 
he told her how he came to her country. He re¬ 
mained two whole months as the guest of the princess 
and told her that he would return soon to demand 
her in marriage from the King of Bengal. 

“And, princess,” said the Prince of Persia, “that 
you may not doubt the truth of what I say and that 
you may not rank me among those false lovers 
who forget the object of their love as soon as they 
are absent from them, I would presume, if I were 
not afraid you would be offended at my request, 
to ask the favor of taking you along with me to 
visit the king, my father.” 

The Princess of Bengal consented. The only 
difficulty was that the prince knew not very well 
how to manage the horse, and she was afraid of 
getting into the same kind of perilous adventure 
as when he made the trip to her country. But the 
prince soon removed her fear by assuring her that 
she might trust herself with him, for after the 
experience he had had, he.defied the Indian himself 
to manage the horse better. 

The next morning, a little before daybreak, 
they went out on the porch of the palace. The 
prince turned the horse toward Persia and placed 


THE ENCHANTED HORSE 


63 

him where the princess could easily get up behind 
him. When the princess was well settled with 
her arms around his waist for better security, then 
he turned the peg and the horse mounted into the 
air, and, making his usual haste, under the guidance 
of the prince, in two hours' time the prince discovered 
the capital of Persia. 

He would not alight at the great square from where 
he had set out, nor in the king's palace, but directed 
his course toward a palace a little distance from 
the town. He led the princess into a handsome 
apartment, where he told her that, to do her all 
the honor that was due, he would go and inform 
his father of their arrival, and return to her immedi¬ 
ately. He ordered the housekeeper of the palace, 
who was then present, to provide the princess with 
whatever she had occasion for. 

After the prince had taken leave of the princess, 
he ordered a horse to be saddled and, after sending 
back the housekeeper to the princess with orders 
to provide her breakfast immediately, he set out 
for the palace. As he passed through the streets, 
he was received with applause by the people, who 
were overjoyed to see him again. The king received 
him and, embracing him with tears of joy and tender¬ 
ness, asked him what had become of the Indian's 
horse. 

This question gave the prince an opportunity 
to tell him of the embarrassment and danger he was 
in when the horse mounted into the air with him 
and how he had arrived at last at the Princess of 
Bengal's palace. He told him of the kind reception 
he met with there and how after promising to 
marry her he had persuaded her to come with him 
to Persia. “But, sir," added the prince, “I have 


64 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


promised that you would not refuse your consent, 
and have brought her with me on the Indian’s 
horse to a palace where your majesty often goes. 
I have left her there till I can return and assure her 
that my promise was not in vain.” 

After these words the prince fell on his face before 
the king to gain his consent, but his father raised 
him up, embraced him a second time, and said: 
“Son, I not only consent to your marriage with the 
Princess of Bengal, but will go meet her myself 
and thank her for the obligation I am under to her. 
We will bring her to my palace and celebrate your 
wedding this day.” 

Then the king gave orders that his court should 
go out of mourning and make preparations for the 
princess’ entry; that the rejoicings should begin 
with a grand concert of military music, and that 
the Indian should be fetched out of prison. When 
the Indian was brought before the king he said 
to him, “I put you in prison that thy life might 
answer for that of the prince, my son, whom I have 
found again. Go, take your horse, and never let 
me see your face more.” 

The Indian had learned of those who fetched him 
out of prison that the prince had returned and had 
brought a princess behind him on the horse, and 
was also informed of the place where he had alighted 
and left her, and that the king was making prepara¬ 
tions to go and bring her to his palace. As soon as 
he got out of the king’s presence, he went direct to 
the palace. He told the housekeeper that he came 
from the king and Prince of Persia to fetch the 
Princess of Bengal and to carry her behind him 
through the air to the king who waited in the great 
square of his palace to gratify the whole court 
and the city of Shiraz with that wonderful sight. 


THE ENCHANTED HORSE 


65 

The housekeeper, who knew the Indian, and 
knew that the king had imprisoned him, gave the 
more credit to what he said because he saw that he 
was at liberty. He presented the Indian to the 
Princess of Bengal, who no sooner understood that 
he came from the Prince of Persia than she consented 
to what the prince, as she thought, desired of her. 

The Indian, overjoyed at his success and the 
ease with which he had stolen the princess, mounted 
the horse, took the princess behind him, turned 
the peg, and presently the horse mounted into the 
air with him and the princess. 

At the same time the King of Persia, followed 
by his court, was on his way to meet the princess. 
The prince had ridden on before to prepare the 
princess to meet his father. The Indian, to defy 
them both and to revenge himself for the ill-treat¬ 
ment he had received, passed over their heads with 
his prize. 

When the King of Persia saw this, he stopped. 
He cursed the Indian for his insolence and 
villainy. The Indian, little moved by the curses 
which just reached his ears, continued on his way, 
while the king, extremely mortified, returned to 
his palace. 

But what was the prince's grief to see the Indian 
carry away the Princess of Bengal, whom he loved 
so dearly that he could not live without her! At 
so unexpected a sight he was thunderstruck, and 
before he could make up his mind what to do the 
horse was out of sight. The prince continued on 
his way to the palace where he had left the princess. 

When he came there, the housekeeper, who by 
this time was convinced that he had been deceived 


66 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


by the Indian, threw himself at the prince's feet, 
accused himself of the crime he thought he had 
committed, and condemned himself to die. 

“Rise up,” said the prince to him “I do not 
charge the loss of my princess to you, but to my own 
folly. But do not lose time. Fetch me a dervish's 
robe and take care you do not give the least hint 
that it is for me.” 

When the robe was brought, the prince immedi¬ 
ately pulled off his own clothes and disguised himself 
in the dress of a dervish. He left the palace in the 
evening, uncertain which way to go, but resolved 
not to return till he found his princess and brought 
her back again. 

The Indian landed in the kingdom of Cashmire. 
He was captured by the Sultan of Cashmire, who 
had him killed and carried off the princess to his 
castle. He wanted the princess to marry him. 
She pretended that she was insane, and would not 
let any of the physicians come near her. The 
sultan tried to secure some one who would cure the 
princess so that he could marry her. 

The Prince of Persia was traveling through this 
country when he heard about the princess. He 
disguised himself as a physician, and was presented 
to the Sultan of Cashmire. The sultan, after having 
told him that the Princess of Bengal could not bear 
the sight of a physician without falling into the 
most violent transports, which increased her illness 
took him into a private room, from whence, through 
a window, he might see her without being seen. 

There the prince saw his lovely princess sitting 
carelessly, singing a song with tears in her eyes, 
deploring her unhappy fate, which deprived her, 
perhaps forever, of the prince she loved so tenderly. 



THE ENCHANTED HORSE 


67 

The prince was so much affected at the melancholy 
condition in which he found the princess that he 
suspected that she was only pretending to be ill. 
When he came away he told the sultan that he had 
discovered the nature of the princess' illness and that 
she was not incurable. He added that he must speak 
to her in private. 

The sultan ordered the princess' door to be opened, 
and the prince went in. As soon as the princess 
saw him (taking him by his appearance to be a 
physician), she rose up in a rage, threatening and 
talking in the most abusive manner. The prince 
went directly toward her and, when he was near 
enough for her to hear him without anyone else 
hearing, he said to her in a low voice and in a most 
respectful manner, to make her believe him, “Princess, 
I am not a physician, but the Prince of Persia, and 
am come to set you at liberty." 

The princess, who immediately knew the sound 
of his voice and the upper features of his face not¬ 
withstanding his beard, grew calm at once, and a 
secret joy and pleasure overspread her face. Her 
agreeable surprise deprived her for some time of 
speech and gave the prince time to tell her as briefly 
as possible how despair seized him when he saw the 
Indian carry her away; the resolution he took 
afterward to leave nothing undone to find out 
where she was, and never to return home till he 
had found her. 

The Princess of Bengal told the prince how she 
was delivered from the Indian by the Sultan of 
Cashmire; but how ill she was treated by his over- 
hasty design to marry her that very day without 
even asking her consent; that his violent conduct 


68 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


put her into a swoon, after which she thought 
she had no other way to save herself than to pretend 
to be ill. 

Then the Prince of Persia asked her if she knew 
what had become of the horse after the Indian's 
death. To this she answered that she knew not 
what orders the sultan had given about it, but 
believed that he would take care of it. 

As the prince never doubted that the sultan had 
the horse, he communicated to the princess his 
design of making use of it to carry them both back 
to Persia. After they had consulted together on 
the measures they were to take, they agreed that 
the princess should next day receive the sultan 
civilly but without speaking to him. 

The Sultan of Cashmire was overjoyed when the 
Prince of Persia told him the effect his first visit 
had had on the Princess of Bengal. And the next 
day, when the princess received him in such a manner 
as persuaded him that her cure was far advanced, he 
looked upon the prince as the greatest physician 
in the world. He advised the princess to follow 
the directions of so thoughtful a physician and 
then retired without waiting for her answer. 

The Prince of Persia, who went with the sultan 
out of the princess' chamber, asked him if, without 
failing in due respect, he might enquire how the 
princess, came into the dominions of Cashmire thus 
alone, since her own country lay so far off? This 
he said on purpose to introduce some remark about 
the enchanted horse, and to know what had become 
of it. 

The Sultan of Cashmire, who could not see the 
reason for the prince asking this question, concealed 
nothing, but told him much the same story as the 


THE ENCHANTED HORSE 


69 

Princess of Bengal had done. He added that he 
had ordered the enchanted horse to be kept safe 
in his treasury as a great curiosity, though he knew 
not the use of it. 

“Sir,” replied the pretended physician, “the 
information which your majesty gives me affords 
me a means of curing the princess. As she was 
brought here on this horse and the horse is enchanted, 
she has contracted some of the enchantment, which 
can be dissipated only by certain incense with which 
I am acquainted. If your majesty would be pleased 
to entertain yourself, your court, and the people 
of your capital with the most surprising sight that 
ever was seen, let the horse be brought into the 
great square before the palace and leave the rest 
to me. I promise to show you and all the people, 
in a few moments’ time, that the Princess of Bengal 
is as well in body and mind as ever she was in her 
life. But, the better to effect what I propose, it 
would be best that the princess be dressed as mag¬ 
nificently as possible, and adorned with the best 
jewels your majesty has.” The sultan agreed 

Early the next day the enchanted horse was, by 
his order, taken out of the treasury and placed in 
the great square before the palace. A report was 
spread through the town that there was something 
extraordinary to be seen, and crowds of people 
flocked there from all parts of the city. 

The Sultan of Cashmire, surrounded by all his 
nobles and ministers of state, sat on a platform 
erected for that purpose. The Princess of Bengal, 
attended by a vast number of ladies whom the 
sultan had assigned her, went up to the enchanted 
horse, and the women helped her to get upon its 
back. When she was fixed in the saddle and had 


7 ° 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


the bridle in her hand, the pretended physician 
placed round the horse a great many vessels full 
of fire, which he had ordered to be brought. He 
then cast a strong and pleasant perfume into these 
pots and with downcast eyes and hands upon his 
breast ran three times around the horse, pretending 
to pronounce certain words. The moment the pots 
sent forth a dark cloud of pleasant scent, which 
so surrounded the princess that neither she nor the 
horse was visible, the prince, watching his oppor¬ 
tunity, jumped nimbly up behind her and, stretching 
out his hand to the peg, turned it. Just as the 
horse rose with them into the air, he pronounced 
these words, which the sultan heard distinctly: 
“Sultan of Cashmire, when you would marry princes¬ 
ses who implore your protection, learn first to 
obtain their consent.” 

Thus the Prince of Persia recovered the Princess 
of Bengal and carried her that same day to the 
capital of Persia, where he alighted in the midst 
of the palace. The king put off the marriage no 
longer than was necessary to make the preparations 
for a magnificent ceremony. 

After the days appointed for the rejoicing were 
over, the King of Persia's first care was to appoint 
an ambassador to go and give the King of Bengal 
an account of what had happened, and to demand 
his approval of the alliance. This the King of 
Bengal took as an honor and granted with great 
pleasure and satisfaction. 

—Adapted from “ The Arabian Nights ” 
Questions and Topics for Discussion 

1. Who brought the enchanted horse to the king? 

2. What was the wonderful thing about the enchanted 
horse ? 

3. How did the Indian start the horse? How did he 
show the king how wonderful the horse was? 



THE ENCHANTED HORSE 


7 1 


4. What did the Indian ask the king to give in exchange 
for the horse? 

5. Why did the prince go so far before he could land? 

6. What happened to the Indian for letting the prince 
get away without showing him how to descend? 

7. Where did the prince land? Describe his adventure 
in that kingdom. 

8. Where did the prince land on his return to Persia? 
Why did he not go directly to the palace? 

9. What did the Indian do when he was released from 
prison ? 

10. What did the prince do after the princess was stolen? 

11. Tell how the prince rescued the Princess of Bengal. 

12. It was natural for the Arabians to think of a horse 
sailing through the air, because they used horses on their 
journeys and were very fond of them. If you had been writing 
the story, what animal could you have selected that would 
have been more appropriate for sailing through the air than 
a horse? 


THE GRANDSTAND UMPIRE 

A Northern man, spending the summer in the 
South, went to see the last game of a series between 
two local teams. For a time he could not observe 
any umpire, but at last he spied him sitting up in the 
grandstand among the spectators. 

“Great guns, man!” the Northerner exclaimed to 
a native. “What's the umpire doing up in the grand¬ 
stand?" 

“Well," the native explained, “the spectators used 

to accuse him of bum work so much that he allowed 

that if the folks up in the grandstand could see every 

play so well he’d better go up there to do his um- 
• • > >> 
pirin . 


—The Continent 


72 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


THE MIRACULOUS PITCHER 

At the close of the story of “The Enchanted Horse” you 
found a group of questions to be answered. You are to read 
the fascinating story of “The Miraculous Pitcher” through 
just for the story first; and then you are to go back over it 
to prepare a set of questions for your classmates to answer. 
Try to make your questions cover the important points and 
not merely little “catchy” details. Write your questions 
neatly upon a piece of paper so that, when called upon, you 
can ask your questions clearly, or so that you may hand them 
to some member of your class for answering. 

One evening in times long ago old Philemon and 
his old wife Baucis sat at their cottage door enjoying 
the calm and beautiful sunset. They had already 
eaten their frugal supper, and intended now to 
spend a quiet hour or two before bedtime. So they 
talked together about their garden and their cow. and 
their bees and their grapevine, which clambered over 
the cottage wall, and on which the grapes were 
beginning to turn purple. But the rude shouts of 
children and the fierce barking of dogs, in the vil¬ 
lage near at hand, grew louder and louder, until at 
last it was hardly possible for Baucis and Philemon to 
hear each other speak. 

“Ah, wife,” cried Philemon, “I fear some poor 
traveler is seeking hospitality among our neighbors 
yonder, and instead of giving him food and lodging 
they have set their dogs at him, as their custom is!” 

“Wejl-a-day!” answered old Baucis; “I do wish 
our neighbors felt a little more kindness for their 
fellow-creatures. And only think of bringing up 
their children in this naughty way and patting them 
on the head when they fling stones at strangers!” 

“Those children will never come to any good,” 
said Philemon, shaking his white head. “To tell 


THE MIRACULOUS PITCHER 


73 


you the truth, wife, I should not wonder if some 
terrible thing were to happen to all the people in 
the village unless they mend their manners. But 
as for you and me, so long as Providence affords 
us a crust of bread let us be ready to give half to 
any poor, homeless stranger that may come along 
and need it.” 

“That's right, husband!” said Baucis. “So we 
will.” 

These old folks, you must know, were quite poor, 
and had to work pretty hard for a living. Old 
Philemon toiled diligently in his garden, while 
Baucis was always busy with her distaff, or making 
a little butter and cheese with their cow's milk, or 
doing one thing and another about the cottage. 
Their food was seldom anything but bread, milk, 
and vegetables, with sometimes a portion of honey 
from their beehive, and now and then a bunch of 
grapes that had ripened against the cottage wall. 
But they were two of the kindest old people in the 
world, and would cheerfully have gone without their 
dinners any day rather than refuse a slice of their 
brown loaf, a cup of nice milk, and a spoonful of 
honey to the weary traveler who might pause before 
their door. They felt as if such guests had a sort 
of holiness, and they ought, therefore, to treat them 
better and more bountifully than their own selves. 

Their cottage stood on a rising ground at some 
short distance from a village which lay in a hollow 
valley that was about half a mile in breadth. This 
valley in past ages, when the world was new, had 
probably been the bed of a lake. There fishes had 
glided to and fro in the depths, and water weeds 
had grown along the margin, and trees and hills 
had seen their reflected images in the broad and 


74 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


peaceful mirror. But, as the waters subsided, men 
had'cultivated the soil and built houses on it, so 
that it was now a fertile spot, and bore no traces of 
the ancient lake except a very small brook which 
meandered through the midst of the village and 
supplied the inhabitants with water. The valley 
had been dry land so long that oaks had sprung up 
and grown great and high, and perished with old 
age, and been succeeded by others as tall and stately 
as the first. Never was there a prettier or more 
fruitful valley. The very sight of the plenty around 
them should have made the inhabitants kind and 
gentle and ready to show their gratitude to Provi¬ 
dence by doing good to their fellow-creatures. 

But, we are sorry to say, the people of this lovely 
village were not worthy to dwell in a spot on which 
Heaven had smiled so beneficently. They were 
a very selfish and hard-hearted people, and had no 
pity for the poor or sympathy with the homeless. 
They would only have laughed had anybody told 
them that human beings owe a debt of love to one 
another, because there is no other method of paying 
the debt of love and care which all of us owe to 
Providence. You will hardly believe what I am 
going to tell you. These naughty people taught 
their children to be no better than themselves, 
and used to clap their hands by way of encourage¬ 
ment when they saw the little boys and girls run 
after some poor stranger, shouting at his heels and 
pelting him with stones. They kept large and 
fierce dogs, and whenever a traveler ventured to 
show himself in the village street this pack of disa¬ 
greeable curs scampered to meet him, barking, snar¬ 
ling, and showing their teeth. Then they would 
seize him by his leg or by his clothes, just as it 


THE MIRACULOUS PITCHER 


75 


happened, and, if he were ragged when he came, 
he was generally a pitiable object before he had 
time to run away. This was a very terrible thing 
to poor travelers, as you may suppose, especially 
when they chanced to be sick or feeble or lame or old. 
Such persons (if they once knew how badly these 
unkind people and their unkind children and curs 
were in the habit of behaving) would go miles and 
miles out of their way rather than try to pass through 
the village again. 

What made the matter seem worse, if possible, was 
that when rich persons came in their chariots or 
riding on beautiful horses, with their servants in 
rich liveries attending on them, nobody could be 
more civil and obsequious than the inhabitants of 
the village. They would take off their hats and 
make the humblest bows you ever saw. If the chil¬ 
dren were rude, they were pretty certain to get their 
ears boxed; and as for the dogs, if a single cur in 
the pack presumed to yelp, his master instantly 
beat him with a club and tied him up without any 
supper. This would have been all very well, only 
it proved that the villagers cared much about the 
money that a stranger had in his pocket, and nothing 
whatever for the human soul which lives equally in 
the beggar and the prince. 

So now you can understand why old Philemon 
spoke so sorrowfully when he heard the shouts of 
the children and the barking of the dogs at the 
further extremity of the village street. 

There was a confused din, which lasted a good 
while and seemed to pass quite through the breadth 
of the valley. 

“I never heard the dogs so loud,” observed the 
good old man. 


76 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


“Nor the children so rude,” answered his good 
old wife. 

They sat shaking their heads one to another while 
the noise came nearer and nearer,until, at the foot 
of the little eminence on which their cottage stood, 
they saw two travelers approaching on foot. Close 
behind them came the fierce dogs snarling at their 
very heels. A little farther off ran a crowd of chil¬ 
dren, who sent up shrill cries and flung stones at the 
two strangers with all their might. Once or twice 
the younger of the two old men (he was a slender 
and very active figure) turned about and drove back 
the dogs with a staff which he carried in his hand. 
His companion, who was a very tall person, walked 
calmly along, as if disdaining to notice either the 
naughty children or the pack of curs whose manners 
the children seemed to imitate. 

Both of the travelers were very humbly clad, 
and looked as if they might not have money enough 
in their pockets to pay for a night's lodging. And 
this, I am afraid, was the reason why the villagers 
had allowed their children and dogs to treat them 
so rudely. 

“Come, wife,” said Philemon to Baucis, “let us 
go and meet these poor people. No doubt they feel 
almost too heavy-hearted to climb the hill.” 

Go you and meet them,” answered Baucis, 
“while I make haste within doors and see whether 
we can get them anything for supper. A comfortable 
bowl of bread and milk would do wonders toward 
raising their spirits.” 

Accordingly she hastened into the cottage. Phile¬ 
mon on his part, went forward and extended his 


THE MIRACULOUS PITCHER 


77 


hand with so hospitable an aspect that there was 
no need of saying—what nevertheless, he did say— 
in the heartiest tone imaginable: 

“Welcome, strangers! welcome!” 

“Thank you!” replied the younger of the two, in 
a lively kind of way, notwithstanding his weariness 
and trouble. “This is quite another greeting than 
we have met with yonder in the village. Pray, why 
do you live in such a bad neighborhood?” 

“Ah!” observed old Philemon, with a smile, 
“Providence put me here, I hope, among other 
reasons, in order that I may make you what amends 
I can for the inhospitalitv of my neighbors.” 

“Well said, old father!” said the traveler, laughing; 
“and if the truth must be told, my companion 
and myself need some amends. Those children 
(the little rascals!) have bespattered us finely with 
their mud balls, and one of the curs has torn my 
cloak, which was ragged enough already. But 
I took him across the muzzle with my staff*, and I 
think you may have heard him yelp even thus far off.” 

Philemon was glad to see him in such good spirits; 
nor, indeed, would you have fancied, by the traveler's 
look and manner, that he was weary with a long 
day's journey, besides being disheartened by rough 
treatment at the end of it. He was dressed in 
rather an odd way, with a sort of cap on his head, 
the brim of which stuck out over both ears. Though 
it was a summer evening, he wore a cloak, which 
he kept wrapped closely about him, perhaps because 
his undergarments were shabby. Philemon perceived, 
too, that he had on a singular pair of shoes, but as 
it was now growing dusk, and as the old man's 
eyesight was none the sharpest, he could not precisely 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


78 

tell in what the strangeness consisted. One thing 
certainly seemed queer; the traveler was so wonder¬ 
fully light and active that it appeared as if his feet 
sometimes rose from the ground of their own accord, 
or could only be kept down by an effort. 

“I used to be light-footed in my youth,” said 
Philemon to the tra’veler, “but I always found my 
feet grow heavier toward nightfall.” 

“There is nothing like a good staff to help one 
along,” answered the stranger; “and I happen to 
have an excellent one, as you see.” 

This staff, in fact, was the oddest-looking staff 
that Philemon had ever beheld. It was made of 
olive wood, and had something like a little pair of 
wings near the top. Two snakes carved in the wood 
were represented as twining themselves about the 
staff, and were so very skillfully executed that Old 
Philemon (whose eyes, you know, were getting 
rather dim) almost thought them alive, and that he 
could see them wriggling and twisting. 

“A curious piece of work, sure enough!” said he. 
“A staff with wings! It would be an excellent 
kind of stick for a little boy to ride astride of.” 

By this time Philemon and his two guests had 
reached the cottage door. 

“Friends,” said the old man, “sit down and rest 
yourselves here on this bench. My good wife Baucis 
has gone to see what you can have for supper. We 
are poor folks, but you shall be welcome to what¬ 
ever we have in the cupboard.” 

I he younger stranger threw himself carelessly on 
the bench, letting his staff fall as he did so. And 
here happened something rather marvelous, though 
trifling enough too. The staff seemed to get up 
from the ground of its own accord, and, spreading 


THE MIRACULOUS PITCHER 


79 


its little pair of wings, it half hopped, half flew, and 
leaned itself against the wall of the cottage. There 
it stood quite still, except that the snakes continued 
to wriggle.. But, in my private opinion, old Phile¬ 
mon's eyesight had been playing him tricks again. 

Before he could ask any questions the elder 
stranger drew his attention from the wonderful 
staff by speaking to him. 

“Was there not," asked the stranger in a remark¬ 
ably deep tone of voice, “a lake, in very ancient 
times, covering the spot where now stands yonder 
village?" 

“Not in my day, friend," answered Philemon, 
“and yet I am an old man, as you see. There were 
always the fields and meadows just as they are 
now, and the old trees, and the little stream mur¬ 
muring through the midst of the valley. My father, 
nor his father before him, ever saw it otherwise, so 
as I know, and doubtless it will still be the same when 
old Philemon shall be gone and forgotten." 

“That is more than can be safely foretold," 
observed the stranger; and there was something 
very stern in his deep voice. He shook his head too, 
so that his dark and heavy curls were shaken with 
the movement. “Since the inhabitants of yonder 
village have forgotten the affections and sympathies 
of their nature, it were better that the lake should 
be rippling over their dwellings again." 

The traveler looked so stern ‘that Philemon was 
really almost frightened; the more so, that at his 
frown the twilight seemed suddenly to grow darker, 
and that when he shook his head there was a roll 
as of thunder in the air. 

But in a moment afterward the stranger's face 
became so kindly and mild that the old man quite 


8 o 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


forgot his terror. Nevertheless, he could not help 
feeling that this elder traveler must be no ordinary 
personage, although he happened now to be attired 
so humbly and to be journeying on foot. Not that 
Philemon fancied him a prince in disguise or any 
character of that sort, but rather some exceedingly 
wise man who went about the world in this poor 
garb, despising wealth and all worldly objects, 
and seeking everywhere to add a mite to his wisdom. 
This idea appeared the more probable because, 
when Philemon raised his eyes to the stranger’s 
face, he seemed to see more thought there in one 
look than he could have studied out in a lifetime. 

While Baucis was getting the supper the travelers 
both began to talk very sociably with Philemon. 
The younger, indeed, was extremely loquacious, and 
made such shrewd and witty remarks that the 
good old man continually burst out a-laughing, 
and pronounced him the merriest fellow whom he 
had seen for many a day. 

‘Tray, my young friend,” said he as they grew 
familiar together, “what may I call your name?” 

“Why, I am very nimble, as you see,” answered 
the traveler. “So if you call me Quicksilver the 
name will fit tolerably well.” 

“Quicksilver! Quicksilver!” repeated Philemon, 
looking in the traveler’s face to see if he were making 
fun of him. “It is a very odd name. And your 
companion there? *Has he as strange a one?” 

“You must ask the thunder to tell you,” replied 
Quicksilver, putting on a mysterious look. “No 
other voice is loud enough.” 

This remark, whether it were serious or in jest, 
might have caused Philemon to conceive a very 
great awe of the elder stranger if, on venturing to 
gaze at him, he had not beheld so much beneficence 


THE MIRACULOUS PITCHER 


81 


in his visage. But, undoubtedly, here was the 
grandest figure that ever sat so humbly beside a 
cottage door. When the stranger conversed, it 
was with gravity, and in such a way that Philemon 
felt irresistibly moved to tell him everything which 
he had most at heart. This is always the feeling 
that people have when they meet with anyone wise 
enough to comprehend all their good and evil and 
to despise not a little of it. 

But Philemon, simple and kind-hearted old man 
that he was, had not many secrets to disclose. He 
talked, however, quite garrulously about the events 
of his past life, in the whole course of which he had 
never been a score of miles from this very spot. 
His wife Baucis and himself had dwelt in the cottage 
from their youth upward, earning their bread by 
honest labor, always poor, but still contented. He 
told what excellent butter and cheese Baucis made, 
and how nice were the vegetables which he raised 
in his garden. He said, too, that, because they loved 
one another so very much, it was the wish of both 
that death might not separate them, but that they 
should die, as they had lived, together. 

As the stranger listened, a smile beamed over his 
countenance and made its expression as sweet as it 
was grand. 

“You are a good old man,” said he to Philemon, 
“and you have a good old wife to be your helpmeet. 
It is fit that your wish be granted.” 

And it seemed to Philemon just then as if the 
sunset clouds threw up a bright flash from the west 
and kindled a sudden light in the sky. 

Baucis had now got supper ready, and, coming 
to the door, began to make apologies for the poor 
fare which she was forced to set before her guests. 


82 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


“Had we known you were coming,” said she, 
“my good man and myself would have gone without 
a morsel rather than you should lack a better supper. 
But I took the most part of to-day's milk to make 
cheese, and our last loaf is already half eaten. Ah, 
me! I never feel the sorrow of being poor save when 
a poor traveler knocks at our door.” 

“All will be very well; do not trouble yourself, 
my good dame,” replied the elder stranger kindly. 
“An honest, hearty welcome to a guest works mir¬ 
acles with the fare, and is capable of turning the 
coarsest food to nectar and ambrosia.” 

“A welcome you shall have,” cried Baucis, “and 
likewise a little honey that we happen to have left, 
and a bunch of purple grapes besides.” 

“Why, Mother Baucis, it is a feast!” exclaimed 
Quicksilver, laughing, “an absolute feast! And 
you shall see how bravely I will play my part at it. 
I think I never felt hungrier in my life.” 

“Mercy on us!” whispered Baucis to her husband. 
“If the young man has such a terrible appetite, I 
am afraid there will not be half enough supper.” 

They all went into the cottage. 

And now shall I tell you something that will 
make you open your eyes very wide? It is really one 
of the oddest circumstances in the whole story. 
Quicksilver's staff, you recollect, had set itself up 
against the wall of the cottage. Well, when its 
master entered the door, leaving this wonderful 
staff behind, what should it do but immediately 
spread its little wings and go hopping and fluttering 
up the doorsteps! Tap, tap, went the staff on the 
kitchen floor, nor did it rest until it had stood itself 
on end, with the greatest gravity and decorum, 
beside Quicksilver's chair. Old Philemon, however, 


THE MIRACULOUS PITCHER 


83 


as well as his wife, was so taken up in attending to 
their guests that no notice was given to what the 
staff had been about. 

As Baucis had said, there was but a scanty supper 
for two hungry travelers. In the middle of the 
table was the remnant of a brown loaf, with a piece 
of cheese on one side of it and a dish of honeycomb 
on the other. There was a pretty good bunch of 
grapes for each of the guests. A moderately sized 
earthen pitcher nearly full of milk stood at a corner 
of the board, and when Baucis had filled two bowls 
and set them before the strangers only a little milk 
remained in the bottom of the pitcher. Alas! it is a 
very sad business when a bountiful heart finds itself 
pinched and squeezed among narrow circumstances. 
Poor Baucis kept wishing that she might starve 
for a week to come if it were possible by so doing to 
provide these hungry folks a more plentiful supper. 

And, since the supper was so exceedingly small, 
she could not help wishing that their appetites had 
not been quite so large. Why, at their very first 
sitting down the travelers both drank off all the 
milk in their two bowls at a draught! 

“A little more milk, kind Mother Baucis, if you 
please,” said Quicksilver. “The day has been hot 
and I am very much athirst.” 

“Now, my dear people,” answered Baucis, in great 
confusion, “I am so sorry and ashamed! But the 
truth is, there is hardly a drop more milk in the 
pitcher. Oh, husband! husband! why didn't we go 
without our supper?” 

“Why, it appears to me,” cried Quicksilver, start¬ 
ing up from the table and taking the pitcher by the 
handle, “it really appears to me that matters are not 
quite so bad as you represent them. Here is certainly 
more milk in the pitcher.” 


8 4 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


So saying, and to the vast astonishment of Baucis, 
he proceeded to fill, not only his own bowl, but his 
companion's likewise, from the pitcher that was 
supposed to be almost empty. The good woman 
could scarcely believe her eyes. She had certainly 
poured out nearly all the milk, and had peeped in 
afterward, and seen the bottom of the pitcher as she 
set it down upon the table. 

“But I am old," thought Baucis to herself, “and 
apt to be forgetful. I suppose I must have made a 
mistake. At all events, the pitcher cannot help being 
empty now, after filling the bowls twice over." 

“What excellent milk!" observed Quicksilver, 
after quaffing the contents of the second bowl. 
“Excuse me, my kind hostess, but I must really 
ask you for a little more." 

Now, Baucis had seen as plainly as she could see 
anything that Quicksilver had turned the pitcher 
upside down, and consequently had poured out every 
drop of milk in filling the last bowl. Of course there 
could not possibly be any left. However, in order to 
let him know precisely how the case was, she lifted 
the pitcher and made a gesture as if pouring milk 
into Quicksilver's bowl, but without the remotest 
idea that any milk would stream forth. What was 
her surprise, therefore, when such an abundant 
cascade fell bubbling into the bowl that it was im¬ 
mediately filled to the brim and overflowed upon the 
table! I he two snakes that were twisted about 
Quicksilver s staff (but neither Baucis nor Philemon 
happened to observe this circumstance) stretched 
out their heads and began to lap up the spilled 
milk. 

And then what a delicious fragrance the milk had! 


THE MIRACULOUS PITCHER 


85 


It seemed as if Philemon’s only cow must have pas¬ 
tured that day on the richest herbage that could be 
found anywhere in the world. 

“And now a slice of your brown loaf, Mother 
Baucis,” said Quicksilver, “and a little of that 
honey.” 

Baucis cut him a slice accordingly; and though the 
loaf, when she and her husband ate of it, had been 
rather too dry and crusty to be palatable, it was now 
as light and moist as if but a few hours out of the 
oven. Tasting a crumb which had fallen on the table, 
she found it more delicious than bread ever was 
before, and could hardly believe that it was a loaf 
of her own kneading and baking. Yet what other 
loaf could it possibly be? 

But, oh, the honey! I may just as well let it alone, 
without trying to describe how exquisitely it smelled 
and looked. Its color was that of the purest and most 
transparent gold, and it had the odor of a thousand 
flowers, but of such flowers as never grew in an 
earthly garden, and to seek which the bees must 
have flown high above the clouds. The wonder is, 
that after alighting on a flower-bed of so delicious 
fragrance and immortal bloom they should have been 
content to fly down again to their hive in Philemon’s 
garden. Never was such honey tasted, seen, or 
smelled. The perfume floated around the kitchen, 
and made it so delightful that, had you closed your 
eyes, you would instantly have forgotten the low 
ceiling and smoky walls, and have fancied yourself 
in an arbor with celestial honeysuckles creeping over 
it. 

Although good Mother Baucis was a simple old 
dame, she could not but think that there was some¬ 
thing rather out of the common way in all that had 


8o 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


been going on. So, after helping the guests to bread 
and honey and laying a bunch of grapes by each of 
their plates, she sat down by Philemon and told him 
what she had seen in a whisper. 

“Did you ever hear the likieasked she. * 

“No, I never did,” answered Philemon with a 
smile. “And I rather think, my dear old wife, you 
have been walking about in a sort of a dream. If I 
had poured out the milk, I should have seen through 
the business at once. There happened to be a little 
more in the pitcher than you thought—that is all.” 

“Ah, husband,” said Baucis, “say what you will, 
these are very uncommon people.” 

“Well, well,” replied Philemon, still smiling, 
“perhaps they are. They certainly do look as if they 
had seen better days, and I am heartily glad to see 
them making so comfortable a supper.” 

Each of the guests had now taken his bunch of 
grapes upon his plate. Baucis (who rubbed her 
eyes in order to see the more clearly) was of opinion 
that the clusters had grown larger and richer, and 
that each separate grape seemed to be on the point 
of bursting with ripe juice. It was entirely a mystery 
to her how such grapes could ever have been produced 
from the old stunted vine that climbed against the 
cottage wall. 

“Very admirable grapes, these!” observed Quick¬ 
silver, as he swallowed one after another without 
apparently diminishing his cluster. “Pray, my good 
host, whence did you gather them?” 

“From my own vine,” answered Philemon. “You 
may see one of its branches twisting across the 
window yonder. But wife and I never thought the 
grapes very fine ones.” 

I never tasted better,” said the guest. “Another 
cup of this delicious milk, if you please, and I shall 
then have supped better than a prince.” 


THE MIRACULOUS PITCHER 


87 


This time old Philemon bestirred himself and took 
up the pitcher, for he was curious to discover whether 
there was any reality in the marvels which Baucis 
had whispered to him. He knew that his good old 
wife was incapable of falsehood, and that she was 
seldom mistaken in what she supposed to be true; 
but this was so very singular a case that he wanted to 
see into it with his own eyes. On taking up the 
pitcher, therefore, he slyly peeped into it, and was 
fully satisfied that it contained not so much as a 
single drop. All at once, however, he beheld a 
little white fountain which gushed up from the 
bottom of the pitcher and speedily filled it to the 
brim with foaming and deliciously fragrant milk. 
It was lucky that Philemon, in his surprise, did not 
drop the miraculous pitcher from his hand. 

“Who are ye, wonder-working strangers ?” cried 
he, even more bewildered than his wife had been. 

“Your guests, my good Philemon, and your 
friends,” replied the elder traveler, in his mild, 
deep voice that had something at once sweet and 
awe-inspiring in it. “Give me likewise a cup of the 
milk; and may your pitcher never be empty for kind 
Baucis and yourself, any more than for the needy 
wayfarer!” 

The supper being now over, the strangers requested 
to be shown to their place of repose. The old people 
would glady have talked with them a little longer, 
and have expressed the wonder which they felt, 
and their delight at finding the poor and meager 
supper prove so much better and more abundant 
than they hoped. But the elder traveler had in¬ 
spired them with such reverence that they dared not 
ask him any questions. And when Philemon drew 
Quicksilver aside and inquired how under the sun a 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


fountain of milk could have got into an old earthern 
pitcher, this latter personage pointed to his staff. 

“There is the whole mystery of the affair,” quoth 
Quicksilver, “and if you can make it out, 111 thank 
you to let me know. I can’t tell what to make 
of my staff. It is always playing such odd tricks as 
this, sometimes getting me a supper, and quite as 
often stealing it away. If I had any faith in such 
nonsense, I should say the stick was bewitched.” 

He said no more, but looked so slyly in their faces 
that they rather fancied he was laughing at them. 
The magic staff went hopping at his heels as Quick¬ 
silver quitted the room. When left alone the good 
old couple spent some little time in conversa¬ 
tion about the events of the evening, and then lay 
down on the floor and fell fast asleep. They had 
given up their sleeping-room to the guests, and had 
no other bed for themselves save these planks, which 
I wish had been as soft as their own hearts. 

The old man and his wife were stirring betimes in 
the morning, and the strangers likewise arose with 
the sun and made their preparations to depart. 
Philemon hospitably entreated them to remain a 
little longer until Baucis could milk the cow and bake 
a cake upon the hearth, and perhaps find them a few 
fresh eggs for breakfast. The guests, however, 
seemed to think it better to accomplish a good part 
of their journey before the heat of the day should 
come on. They therefore persisted in setting out 
immediately, but asked Philemon and Baucis to 
walk forth with them a short distance and show them 
the road which they were to take. 

So they all four issued from the cottage, chatting 
together like old friends. It was very remarkable 
indeed how familiar the old couple insensibly grew 


THE MIRACULOUS PITCHER 


89 


with the elder traveler, and how their good and 
simple spirits melted into his, even as two drops of 
water would melt into the illimitable ocean. And 
as for Quicksilver, with his keen, quick, laughing wits, 
he appeared to discover every little thought that but 
peeped into their minds before they suspected it 
themselves. They sometimes wished, it is true, that 
he had not been quite so quick-witted, and also that 
he would fling his staff, which looked so mysteriously 
mischievous with the snakes always writhing about 
it. But then, again, Quicksilver showed himself so 
very good-humored that they would have been 
rejoiced to keep him in their cottage, staff, snakes, 
and all, every day and the whole day long. 

“Ah, me! Well-a-day!” exclaimed Philemon when 
they had walked a little way from their door. “If 
our neighbors only knew what a blessed thing it is 
to show hospitality to strangers, they would tie up 
all their dogs and never allow their children to fling 
another stone.” 

“It is a sin and shame for them to behave so— 
that it is!” cried good old Baucis, vehemently. 
“And I mean to go this very day and tell some of 
them what naughty people they are.” 

“I fear,” remarked Quicksilver, slyly smiling, 
“that you will find none of them at home.” 

The elder traveler's brow just then assumed such 
a grave, stern, and awful grandeur, yet serene withal, 
that neither Baucis nor Philemon dared to speak a 
word. They gazed reverently into his face, as if they 
had been gazing at the sky. 

“When men do not feel toward the humblest 
stranger as if he were a brother,” said the traveler, 
in tones so deep that they sounded like those of an 


9 ° 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


organ, “they are unworthy to exist on earth, which 
was created as the abode of a great human brother¬ 
hood. ” 

“And, by the by, my dear old people,” cried Quick¬ 
silver, with the liveliest look of fun and mischief in 
his eyes, “where is this same village that you talk 
about? On which side of us does it lie? Methinks 
I do not see it hereabout.” 

Philemon and his wife turned toward the valley 
where at sunset only the day before they had seen 
the meadows, the houses, the gardens, the clumps 
of trees, the wide, green-margined street with chil¬ 
dren playing in it, and all the tokens of business, 
enjoyment, and prosperity. But what was their 
astonishment! There was no longer any appearance 
of a village! Even the fertile vale in the hollow of 
which it lay had ceased to have existence. In its 
stead they beheld the broad blue surface of a lake 
which filled the great basin of the valley from brim 
to brim, and reflected the surrounding hills in its 
bosom with as tranquil an image as if it had been 
there ever since the creation of the world. For an 
instant the lake remained perfectly smooth. Then 
a little breeze sprang up and caused the water to 
dance, glitter, and sparkle in the early sunbeams and 
to dash with a pleasant rippling murmur against the 
hither shore. 

The lake seemed so strangely familiar that the old 
couple were greatly perplexed, and felt as if they 
could only have been dreaming about a village having 
lain there. But the next moment they remembered 
the vanished dwellings and the faces and characters 
of the inhabitants far too distinctly for a dream. 
The village had been there yesterday, and now was 
gone! 


THE MIRACULOUS PITCHER 


9 1 

‘‘Alas!’" cried these kind-hearted old people, 
“what has become of our poor neighbors?” 

“They exist no longer as men and women,” said 
the elder traveler in his grand and deep voice, while 
a roll of thunder seemed to echo it at a distance. 
“There was neither use nor beauty in such a life as 
theirs, for they never softened or sweetened the hard 
lot of mortality by the exercise of kindly affections 
between man and man. They retained no image of 
the better life in their bosoms; therefore the lake that 
was of old has spread itself forth again to reflect the 
sky.” 

“And as for those foolish people,” said Quicksilver, 
with his mischievous smile, “they are all transformed 
to fishes. They needed but little change, for they 
were already a scaly set of rascals and the coldest- 
blooded beings in existence. So, kind Mother Baucis, 
whenever you or your husband have an appetite for 
a dish of broiled trout, he can throw in a line and pull 
out half a dozen of your old neighbors.” 

“Ah,” cried Baucis, shuddering, “I would not for 
the world put one of them on the gridiron!” 

“No,” added Philemon, making a wry face, “we 
could never relish them.” 

“As for you, good Philemon,” continued the elder 
traveler, “and you, kind Baucis—you with your 
scanty means have mingled so much heartfelt hospi¬ 
tality with your entertainment of the homeless 
stranger that the milk became an inexhaustible fount 
of nectar, and the brown loaf and the honey were 
ambrosia. Thus the divinities have feasted at your 
board off the same viands that supply their banquets 
on Olympus. You have done well, my dear old 
friends. Wherefore request whatever favor you have 
most at heart, and it is granted.” 


9 2 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


Philemon and Baucis looked at one another, and 
then—I know not which of the two it was that 
spoke, but that one uttered the desire of both their 
hearts: 

“Let us live together while we live, and leave the 
world at the same instant when we die. For we have 
always loved one another.” 

“Be it so,” replied the stranger with majestic kind¬ 
ness. “Now look toward your cottage.” 

They did so; but what was their surprise on behold¬ 
ing a tall edifice of white marble with a wide-open 
portal occupying the spot where their humble resi¬ 
dence had so lately stood. 

“There is your home,” said the stranger, bene¬ 
ficently smiling on them both. “Exercise your 
hospitality in yonder palace as freely as in the poor 
hovel to which you welcomed us last evening.” 

The old folks fell on their knees to thank him, 
but, behold! neither he nor Quicksilver was there. 

So Philemon and Baucis took up their residence 
in the marble palace and spent their time, with vast 
satisfaction to themselves, in making everybody 
jolly and comfortable who happened to pass that way. 
The milk-pitcher, I must not forget to say, retained 
its marvelous quality of being never empty when it 
was desirable to have it full. Whenever an honest, 
good-humored, and free-hearted guest took a draught 
from this pitcher, he invariably found it the sweetest 
and most invigorating fluid that ever ran down his 
throat. But if a cross and disagreeable curmudgeon 
happened to sip, he was pretty certain to twist his 
visage into a hard knot and pronounce it a pitcher of 
sour milk. 

Thus the old couple lived in their palace a great, 


THE MIRACULOUS PITCHER 


93 


indeed. At length, however, there came a summer 
morning when Philemon and Baucis failed to make 
their appearance, as on other mornings, with one 
hospitable smile overspreading both their pleasant 
faces, to invite the guests of overnight to breakfast. 
The guests searched everywhere, from top to bottom 
of the spacious palace, and all to no purpose. But 
after a great deal of perplexity they espied in front 
of the portal two venerable trees which nobody 
could remember to have seen there the day before. 
Yet there they stood, with their roots fastened deep 
into the soil and a huge breadth of foliage over¬ 
shadowing the whole front of the edifice. One was an 
oak and the other a linden tree. Their boughs—it 
was strange and beautiful to see—were intertwined 
together and embraced one another, so that each 
tree seemed to live in the other's bosom much more 
than in its own. 

While the guests were marveling how these trees, 
that must have required at least a century to grow, 
could have come to be so tall and venerable in a 
single night, a breeze sprang up and set their inter¬ 
mingled boughs astir. And then there was a deep, 
broad murmur in the air, as if the two mysterious 
trees were speaking. 

“I am old Philemon!" murmured the oak. 

“I am old Baucis!" murmured the linden tree. 

But as the breeze grew stronger the trees both 
spoke at once—“Philemon! Baucis! Baucis! Phile¬ 
mon!" as if one were both and both were one, and 
talking together in the depths of their mutual heart. 
It was plain enough to perceive that the good old 
couple had renewed their age and were now to 
spend a quiet and delightful hundred years or so, 
Philemon as an oak and Baucis as a linden tree. 


94 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


And, oh, what a hospitable shade did they fling 
around them! Whenever a wayfarer paused beneath 
it, he heard a pleasant whisper of the leaves above his 
head, and wondered how the sound should so much 
resemble words like these: 

“Welcome, welcome, dear traveler, welcome!” 

And some kind soul that knew what would have 
pleased old Baucis and old Philemon best built a 
circular seat around both their trunks, where, for a 
great while afterward, the weary and the hungry 
and the thirsty used to repose themselves and quaff 
milk abundantly out of the miraculous pitcher. 

And I wish, for all our sakes, that we had the 
pitcher here now. 

—Nathaniel Hawthorne 
YES OR NO 

Write your name on the first line of your paper and your 
grade on the second line. 

Below is a list of sentences. You are to answer each one with 
Yes or No. There should be one answer on each line: 

1. Chalk is always black. 

2. Good students are always bad. 

3. Columbus was the first President of the United States. 

4. Coal is not a fuel. 

5. This is an easy test. 


THE MOUSE TOWER ON THE RHINE 


95 


THE MOUSE TOWER ON THE RHINE 

You should know the story of “The Mouse Tower on the 
Rhine” because so many times writers refer to this old legend. 
Henry W. Longfellow refers to it in his poem “The Children’s 
Hour,” and we can appreciate the poem more if we are familiar 
with the story. 

Below the city of Bingen on the Rhine river in 
Germany, there is an island in the middle of the 
river. On this island there is a strong castle which 
is known as the Mouse-Tower. It received that name 
in this way. 

Once there was an old bishop by the name of Hatto 
who lived in this castle. He was very ambitious and 
heartless and was very cruel toward the poor people 
in his territory. He made them pay heavy taxes 
on their houses and land. He also made them pay 
toll when they went past his castle in going up and 
down the river. Toll is a sum of money which is 
paid for the privilege of passing over some bridge 
or on some canal. The people thought that he had 
no right to make them pay toll on the river, because 
he did not make that and such passageways should 
be free. This made them hate him very much. 

Then came a year when the harvests were very 
poor and the people did not have enough food to 
keep them from starving. Hatto had bought up all 
the stores of corn that were left from the year before, 
and now he wanted to sell this corn to the people at 
very high prices. They did not have the money to 
pay such high prices. 

The people went to him and implored him to 
lower the price of the corn so that they could buy 
it. All their petitions were in vain. His advisers 
asked him to have pity on the poor people, but he 
remained unmoved. 


9 6 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


One day a troop of hungry people came to his 
palace on the bank of the river and begged him to 
give them some food. Hatto and his guests were just 
sitting down to a very fine meal. 

As the ragged mob of men, women, and children 
with hollow cheeks and pale faces threw themselves 
at his feet crying for bread, a very fiendish plan 
suggested itself to him. Beckoning to them to come 
on, he had them led outside the town to a barn, 
where he told them each one was to receive as much 
corn as he wished. The unhappy folks hurried there 
with their hearts full of gratitude, but when they 
were all in the barn Hatto ordered all the doors to 
be shut and the barn to be set on fire. 

The screams of the poor people were heart-rending, 
and could be heard even at the bishop’s palace. 
Hatto called out scornfully at his advisers who were 
at his table: “Listen! How the mice are squeaking 
among the corn. This eternal begging is at an end 
at last. May the mice bite me if it is not true!” 

But the punishment which Heaven sent the bishop 
for his cruel act was terrible. Thousands of mice 
came out of the burning barn, made their way to the 
palace, filled every chamber and corner, and at last 
attacked the bishop himself. His servants killed 
them by hundreds, but their numbers seemed to 
increase, as did also their ferocity. The bishop was 
seized with horror, and, anticipating God’s punish¬ 
ment, he fled from his palace in the town and went on 
board a boat, hoping to be safe there from the hordes 
of mice. But the mice jumped into the river and 
swam after his boat. Then he hastened to his tower 
on the island, where he thought that he could shut 
himself in and be safe from his enemies. 

But the mice followed him and gnawed an en- 


THE CHILDREN’S HOUR 


97 


trance into the tower. At last they reached the cruel 
bishop in the top of the tower, and there they 
devoured him. In his agony he offered his soul to 
the Evil One if he would release his body from the 
awful agony. The Evil Spirit freed his body, but took 
his soul away for himself. Thus were the poor people 
who burned in the barn avenged. 

THE CHILDREN’S HOUR 

According to this poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 
the poet set apart an hour at twilight in which he could frolic 
and play with his three daughters, Alice, Allegra, and Edith. 
Picture to yourselves the kind, handsome elderly poet sitting 
in his study resting from his work and being “attacked” by 
these three “bandits” or “banditti,” who creep down the 
big, open stairway to surprise their father. 

There is a famous picture called “The Children’s Hour” 
which some of you may find and bring to class. As you look 
at this picture point out how your mental picture differed 
from it and tell what changes or additions you would make if 
you had been the artist. 

Memorize this poem. 

Between the dark and the daylight, 

When the night is beginning to lower, 
Comes a pause in the day’s occupations, 
That is known as the Children’s Hour. 

I hear in the chamber above me 
The patter of little feet, 

The sound of a door that is opened, 

And voices soft and sweet. 

From my study I see in the lamplight, 
Descending the broad hall stair, 

Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra, 

And Edith with golden hair. 


9 s 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


A whisper, and then a silence: 

Yet I know by their merry eyes 

They are plotting and planning together 
To take me by surprise. 

A sudden rush from the stairway, 

A sudden raid from the hall! 

By three doors left unguarded 
They enter my castle wall! 

They climb up into my turret 

O’er the arms and back of my chair; 

If I try to escape, they surround me; 
They seem to be everywhere. 

They almost devour me with kisses. 

Their arms about me entwine, 

Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen 
In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine! 

Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti, 
Because you have scaled the wall. 

Such an old mustache as I am 
Is not a match for you all! 

I have you fast in my fortress, 

And will not let you depart, 

But put you down into the dungeon 
In the round-tower of my heart. 

And there will I keep you forever, 

Yes, forever and a day, 

Till the walls shall crumble to ruin. 

And moulder in dust away! 

■—Henry W. Longfellow 


THE OLD CLOCK ON THE STAIRS 


99 


THE OLD CLOCK ON THE STAIRS 

Have you ever seen a grandfather’s clock? The pendulum 
in one of these clocks is more than a yard long and therefore 
swings very slowly. In order to get the expression that Long¬ 
fellow intended to have put in the refrain, “Forever—never; 
never—forever,” these words should be read very slowly, 
corresponding to the long swings of the pendulum in a 
grandfather’s clock. 

If you do not know how such pendulums swing, you can 
easily make one. Tie a weight to a string about thirty-nine 
inches long and set it swinging. It will beat seconds like the 
pendulum of a grandfather’s clock. Say one of the words in 
the refrain for each swing of the pendulum, dragging it out to 
imitate the slow swing of the pendulum: F-o-r-e-v-e-r; 
n-e—v—e-r; N-e-v-e-r; f-o-r-e-v-e-r. 

Before attempting to commit this poem to memory, look 
up any of the words which you do not thoroughly understand. 

Somewhat back from the village street 
Stands the old-fashioned country-seat. 

Across its antique portico 

Tall poplar-trees their shadows throw; 

And from its station in the hall 
An ancient timepiece says to all,— 

“Forever—never! 

Never—forever!” 

Half-way up the stairs it stands, 

And points and beckons with its hands 
From its case of massive oak, 

Like a monk, who, under his cloak, 

Crosses himself, and sighs, alas! 

With sorrowful voice to all who pass,— 
“Forever—never! 

Never—forever!” 


IOO 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


By day its voice is low and light; 

But in the silent dead of night, 

Distinct as a passing footstep's fall, 

It echoes along the vacant hall, 

Along the ceiling, along the floor, 

And seems to say, at each chamber-door,— 
“Forever—never! 

Never—forever!" 

Through days of sorrow and of mirth, 
Through days of death and days of birth, 
Through every swift vicissitude 
Of changeful time, unchanged it has stood, 
And as if, like God, it all things saw, 

It calmly repeats those words of awe,— 
“Forever—never! 

Never—forever!” 

In that mansion used to be 
Free-hearted Hospitality; 

His great fires up the chimney roared; 

The stranger feasted at his board; 

But, like the skeleton at the feast, 

That warning timepiece never ceased,— 
“Forever—never! 

Never—forever!” 

There groups of merry children played, 

There youths and maidens dreaming strayed; 
O precious hours! O golden prime. 

And affluence of love and time! 

Even as a miser counts his gold, 

Those hours the ancient timepiece told,— 
“Forever—never! 

Never—forever!” 


THE OLD CLOCK ON THE STAIRS 


IOI 


From that chamber, clothed in white, 

The bride came forth on her wedding night; 
There, in that silent room below, 

The dead lay in his shroud of snow; 

And in the hush that followed the prayer, 
Was heard the old clock on the stair,— 
“Forever—never! 

Never—forever!” 

All are scattered now and fled, 

Some are married, some are dead; 

And when I ask, with throbs of pain, 

“Ah! when shall they all meet again?” 

As in the days long since gone by, 

The ancient timepiece makes reply,— 
“Forever—never! 

Never—forever!” 

Never here, forever there, 

Where all parting, pain, and care, 

And death, and time shall disappear,— 
Forever there, but never here! 

The horologe of Eternity 
Sayeth this incessantly,— 

“Forever—never! 

Never—forever!” 

—Henry W. Longfellow 


102 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


DANIEL BOONE, THE FOUNDER OF KENTUCKY 

Have you ever been alone in a big forest, away 
from everyone? If so, you will be able partly to 
understand how the early settlers felt when they came 
west when that part of the country was inhabited 
only by wild animals and Indians. 

Daniel Boone was one of the most famous of these 
early settlers. He was born in a small backwoods 
settlement in Pennsylvania in 1735. This settlement 
consisted of a group of log houses, and was sur¬ 
rounded by woods which contained game of various 
kinds. It is not strange that Daniel became a great 
hunter in such surroundings. He began to shoot 
squirrels, raccoons, and other small animals when 
he could barely carry a gun. He also taught the other 
boys of the neighborhood how to use a rifle so that 
they could go hunting with him. 

A story is told of one occasion when he was re¬ 
turning home from a hunting trip with some of the 
boys. It was almost dark when suddenly they heard 
a wild cry very near them. The boys who were 
with him dashed off down the trail toward the settle¬ 
ment screaming, “A panther! A panther!” Daniel 
stood calmly looking around to see the animal. 
He caught sight of him just as he was ready to spring 
toward him. He quickly leveled his rifle and shot 
the panther through the heart. 

When Daniel wa$ about eighteen years of age, 
he moved with his parents to North Carolina. 
Here he spent a great deal of time in hunting. 
In 1755 Daniel married a young woman by the name 
of Rebecca Bryan and settled down on a farm on 
the banks of the Yadkin river. 

Soon reports came to that community of the 
wonders of the land west of the mountains. Boone 


DANIEL BOONE 


103 


finally decided to leave his wife and children to run 
the farm and go with five of his companions on an 
exploring and hunting trip in the eastern part of 
Kentucky. 

At that time there were no white settlers in this 
region. It was used by the Indians for a hunting 
ground. On one of his hunting trips in this region 
Boone and his companion, John Stuart, were sur¬ 
prised and captured by a party of Indians. The 
Indians decided to take their captives home with 
them. Boone knew that one of two things would 
happen to them when they reached the Indian 
village: they would either be adopted into the 
Indian tribe, or they would be tortured and put to 
death. He saw that it would be impossible for them 
to escape at once, so he told his companion to appear 
contented and happy. When the Indians saw how 
calm and contented their captives appeared, they 
did not watch them so closely. 

After they had been prisoners for seven days, 
the Indians camped at night in a thick canebrake. 
They built a big fire and lay down to rest. The 
Indians who were left to guard the camp were very 
tired, and as no danger seemed near they fell asleep. 
Boone waited until he was sure that all of the party 
were asleep and then wakened Stuart and told him 
to follow him quietly. 

By means of the stars they struck off rapidly in 
the direction of their former camp. When they 
finally reached this camp, they found it plundered 
and their four companions gone. They never 
learned what became of their companions. 

Boone and Stuart continued hunting, and were 
one day surprised by the appearance of two other 
hunters. “Hello!” they shouted. “Who are you?” 


104 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


The hunters replied, “White men and friends.” 
Boone was very much pleased to find that one of the 
hunters was his brother, who had come with a fresh 
supply of ammunition. 

A few days after this, while hunting with Stuart, 
Boone was attacked by a party of Indians. Stuart 
was killed, but Boone succeeded in escaping and 
rejoined his brother and his companion. A short 
time after this his brother's companion was lost in the 
woods and did not return to the camp. They 
searched for him for several days, but were unable 
to find any trace of him. This left Boone and his 
brother alone in the great forests of Kentucky. 

Since their ammunition was running low, it was 
decided that his brother was to return to North 
Carolina for an additional supply while Boone 
stayed in Kentucky. 

Think of Daniel Boone all alone in the great forest! 
He had to be on constant guard to escape capture by 
the Indians, and he was in almost an equal danger 
from the attacks of wolves and other wild beasts. 
At times he hid in the canebrakes and heard the yells 
of Indians all about him. 

At that time the woods of Kentucky contained a 
low v/eed which when once pressed down would not 
recover its former position. If a hunter or an animal 
walked through a patch of this weed, he left tracks 
by which he could easily be followed. Boone avoided 
all these weeds, but frequently detected the presence 
of Indians who were not so careful in avoiding them. 
Boone explored all the central part of Kentucky and 
returned to meet his brother at the old camp in the 
summer of 1770. They hunted for several months, 
and finally returned to North Carolina in the spring 
of 1771. 


DANIEL BOONE 


105 


Boone and his brother then decided to move with 
their families to this new and fertile region in 
Kentucky. They were joined by five other families 
in their new venture. They took cattle and swine 
along to stock their new farms in the West. 

Before they reached their destination, a party of 
Indians attacked the young men who were driving 
the cattle and killed six of them (one of whom was 
Boone's oldest son) before the men of the party 
could rescue them. This so saddened the party that 
they decided to go back forty miles to the nearest 
settlement in Virginia and wait until the danger of an 
attack by the Indians was over. 

It was indeed fortunate that they did so, for a 
terrible Indian war broke out at this time between 
the Indians and the western settlers of Virginia. 
Boone enlisted in a volunteer company, and was made 
a captain. The Indians were defeated and forced to 
surrender all their claims to Kentucky. 

A company was then organized by Colonel Richard 
Henderson for the settlement of Kentucky. He 
first sent Boone to buy the strip of land between the 
Cumberland and Kentucky rivers from the Cherokee 
Indians who claimed that territory. Boone was 
successful in making the purchase from the Indians. 

He was then sent with a company of men to build 
a fort on this land and prepare it for settlers who were 
to follow. After a long and dangerous march through 
the wilderness Boone and his company reached the 
Kentucky river and built a fort on its banks which 
was later called Boonesborough. This fort consisted 
of several log houses joined by a wall of high stakes, 
called a palisade. After the fort was finished, some 
of the men were left to guard it while Boone and some 
other members of the company returned to Virginia 
to bring their families to the new settlement. 


io6 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


Shortly after Boone's return the settlers were very 
much in need of salt. Boone took a party of twenty- 
seven men with him and went to a place called Blue 
Licks, where there were some salt springs from which 
they could secure some salt. This was done by boil¬ 
ing the salt water in large kettles, the salt remaining 
after the water boiled away. 

While they were camping at Blue Licks, Boone 
went on a hunting trip to secure food. He was 
captured by a band of over a hundred Indians who 
were on the way to Boonesborough. Boone knew 
that as soon as the Indians secured a considerable 
number of captives they generally started for their 
own village. He decided to surrender his party at 
Blue Licks and by that means save Boonesborough. 
He was right in his judgment, because the Indians 
immediately started for their village at Chillicothe, 
north of the Ohio river, and gave up their plan to 
attack Boonesborough. 

As in the previous case of his capture by the 
Indians, Boone appeared entirely content to remain 
with the Indian party. He went on all their hunting 
excursions and showed them his skill with his rifle. 
The Indians became so fond of Boone that they 
adopted him into their tribe upon their return to the 
village. 

The form of adoption into an Indian tribe was a 
very strenuous one. The Indians pulled all his hair 
out by the roots except a small round tuft on the 
top of his head, which was left for a scalp lock. This 
scalp lock was left so that it could be cut off by his 
enemy if he was killed in battle. Boone was then 
washed and rubbed very vigorously “to take all his 
white blood out." And lastly they painted his head 
and face according to the custom of the Indians. 


DANIEL BOONE 


io 7 

Boone was patiently waiting for a good oppor¬ 
tunity to escape. One day upon returning from an 
expedition with a party of Indians he found a band 
of over four hundred warriors gathered together 
for the purpose of attacking Boonesborough. He 
knew that the settlers were not aware of this danger, 
and decided to attempt an escape the next day and 
endeavor to reach the fort before the Indians could 
attack it. 

Early the following morning he went out, as he 
told the Indians, on a short hunting trip. By this 
time he appeared so contented that they trusted him 
in this way. As soon as he was out of sight of the 
village he set out as rapidly as he could travel in the 
direction of Boonesborough. He walked the entire 
distance to the fort in five days, only stopping to eat 
one meal in that time. 

He found the fort to be in bad condition for de¬ 
fense and immediately began to prepare for the ex¬ 
pected attack by the Indians. When they finally 
arrived at the fort, the settlers were ready for them 
and repulsed them with a loss of thirty-seven killed 
and many more wounded. This was the last attack 
by a large body of Indians upon the fort at Boones¬ 
borough. 

Small roving bands of Indians still dashed into this 
territory occasionally and attacked small posts or 
single farmhouses. A group of four Indians surprised 
Boone at a later date when he was alone in a tobacco 
house. He was moving some of his tobacco from 
poles in the lower part of the shed to the upper part 
to make room for the remainder of the crop which 
he wished to harvest. Four Indians crept in the 
door, leveled their guns at Boone, and said, “Now, 
Boone, we got you. You no get away more. We 


io 8 COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 

carry you off to Chillicothe this time. You no cheat 
us any more.” He recognized some of the tribe from 
which he had escaped. He replied, “Ah! old friends, 
glad to see you.” He then inquired after old ac¬ 
quaintances and said that he would give them some 
of his tobacco which was cured. He then dropped 
some stalks of the dry tobacco into their faces and, 
grabbing up an armful of the dry leaves, jumped 
down on them, filling their eyes and mouths with the 
dry tobacco dust. This blinded them, and he easily 
escaped to his house, where he secured his rifle to 
protect himself. 

The settlements grew rapidly along the Ohio river, 
and finally in 1792 Kentucky was separated from 
Virginia and admitted as a separate state into the 
Union. Among all the famous pioneers who helped 
to settle and defend that state against Indian at¬ 
tacks, Daniel Boone takes his place in history as one 
of the foremost of them. 

On account of some defect in the title to his land, 
Boone lost his farm at Boonesborough. He then went 
to Missouri, where he assisted in the settlement of 
that state. 

While living at the home of one of his sons who had 
also moved to Missouri, he died in September, 1820, 
at the age of eighty-six. The legislature of Missouri, 
which was in session at that time, passed a resolu¬ 
tion that the members should wear a badge of mourn¬ 
ing for twenty days. They also adjourned for a day 
on the date of his funeral to show their high regard 
for this noble pioneer. 

Story-Telling and Questions 

1. Tell two of the stories that you liked best in the story 
of Daniel Boone. 

2. When and where was Daniel Boone born? 


DANIEL BOONE 


109 

3. In what state did he live several years before going to 
Kentucky? 

4. Why did Boone go to Kentucky on the first hunting 
trip which he took there? 

5. Who sent Boone to Kentucky to build a fort there? 
Where did he build this fort? 

6. How did the early settlers obtain salt when their 
supply became exhausted? 

7. Describe the manner in which a white man was adopted 
into an Indian tribe. 

8. How old was Boone when he died? In what state 
was he living when he died? 

9. Read the story of Daniel Boone through again and then 
without referring to this book, write a short biography of 
Daniel Boone. 


Suggestive Study 

1. What do you know about the American Indians? 

1 . Write story of 50 words on your favorite topic in history. 

3. Where is Kentucky from where you live? 

4. Name two uses of salt. 

5. Where is Virginia from Kentucky? 

Your teacher will call for the story of 50 words to be read 
in class. The four questions will be answered in class. 


I IO 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 

The account of the discovery of America will require 
somewhat more careful and attentive reading than many of 
the lighter stories that you have read. You are to read with 
care, noticing the details of the account, for when you have 
completed the reading, you are to go back over the story and 
prepare a set of questions to be presented before the class. 

It is quite as difficult to question well as to answer well, so 
see how good a set of questions you can make. Try to cover 
the important points of the entire account in ten questions. 

A study in words follows the story, so your careful reading 
will aid you in answering the vocabulary questions later. 

Early in the morning of the 6th of September, 
1492, Columbus set sail from the island of Gomera, 
and now might be said first to strike into the region 
of discovery, taking leave of these frontier islands 
of the Old World, and steering westward for the 
unknown parts of the Atlantic. For three days, j 
however, a profound calm kept the vessels loitering 
with flagging sails within a short distance of the 
land. 

On the following Sunday, the 9th of September, 
at daybreak, he beheld Ferro, the last of the Canary j 
islands, about nine leagues distant. Fortunately a 
breeze sprung up with the sun, their sails were 1 
once more filled, and in the course of the day the 
heights of Ferro gradually faded from the horizon. 

On losing sight of this last trace of land the 
hearts of the crew failed them. Behind them was 
everything dear to the heart of man—country, 
family, friends, life itself; before them everything 
was chaos, mystery, and peril. Many of the rugged 
seamen shed tears, and some broke into loud lam- 3 
entations. 

The admiral tried in every way to soothe their 



THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 


hi 


distress and inspire them with his own glorious 
anticipations. He described to them the magnifi¬ 
cent countries to which he was about to conduct 
them: the isles of the Indian seas teeming with 
gold and precious stones. He promised them land 
and riches, and everything that could arouse their 
cupidity or inflame their imaginations. 

He now issued orders to the commanders of the 
other vessels that, in the event of separation by 
any accident, they should continue directly west¬ 
ward; but that, after sailing seven hundred ieagues, 
they should lay by from midnight until daylight, 
as at about that distance he confidently expected 
to find land. 

To deceive the sailors he kept two reckonings: 
one correct, in which the true way of the ship was 
noted, and which he retained in secret for his own 
government; in the other, which was open to gen¬ 
eral inspection, a number of leagues was daily sub¬ 
tracted from the sailing of the ship, so that the 
crews were kept in ignorance of the real distance 
they had advanced. 

On the 14th of September the voyagers were 
rejoiced by what they considered indications of 
land. A heron and a certain tropical bird, neither 
of which is supposed to venture far to sea, hovered 
about the ships. 

The wind had hitherto been favorable, with oc¬ 
casional though transient clouds and showers. They 
had made great progress every day, though Colum¬ 
bus, according to his secret plan, contrived to sup¬ 
press several leagues in the daily reckonings left 
open to the crew. 

On the 18th of September the same weather 


112 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


continued; a soft steady breeze from the east filled 
every sail, while Columbus fancied that the water 
of the sea grew fresher as he advanced, and noticed 
this as a proof of the superior sweetness and purity 
of the air. 

The crews were all in high spirits; each ship 
strove to get in the advance, and every seaman 
was eagerly on the lookout; for the sovereign had 
promised a pension of ten thousand maravedies 
(about $35.00) to him who should first discover land. 

Notwithstanding his precaution to keep the people 
ignorant of the distance they had sailed, they were 
now growing extremely uneasy at the length of the 
voyage. They had advanced much farther west than 
ever man had sailed before, and, though already 
beyond the reach of succor, still they continued daily 
leaving vast tracts of ocean behind them, and pressing 
onward and onward into that apparently boundless 
abyss. 

On the 20th of September the wind veered, with 
light breezes from the southwest. These, though 
adverse to their progress, had a cheering effect 
upon the people, as they proved that the wind did 
not always prevail from the east. Several birds 
also visited the ships; three of a small kind, which 
keep about groves and orchards, came singing in 
the morning and flew away again in the evening. 
Their song cheered the hearts of the dismayed 
mariners, who hailed it as the voice of land. The 
larger fowl, they observed, were strong of wing, 
and might venture far to sea; but such small birds 
were too feeble to fly far, and their singing showed 
that they were not exhausted by their flight. 

For three days there was a continuance of light 
summer airs from the southward and westward, 


THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 


and the sea was as smooth as a mirror. A whale 
was seen heaving up its huge form at a distance, 
which Columbus immediately pointed out as a fa¬ 
vorable indication, affirming that these creatures 
were generally seen in the neighborhood of land. 

The crews, however, became uneasy at the calm¬ 
ness of the weather. Everything differed, they 
said, in these strange regions, from the world to 
which they had been accustomed. The only winds 
which prevailed with any constancy and force were 
from the east, and there was a risk, therefore, either 
of perishing amidst stagnant and shoreless waters, 
or of being prevented, by contrary winds, from ever 
returning to their native country. 

Columbus continued with admirable patience to 
reason with these fancies; observing that the calm¬ 
ness of the sea must undoubtedly be caused by the 
vicinity of land in the quarter whence the wind 
blew, which, therefore, had not space to act upon 
the surface and heave up large waves. 

The more Columbus argued, the more boisterous 
became the murmurs of the crew, until, on Sun¬ 
day, the 25th of September, there came on a heavy 
swell of the sea, unaccompanied by wind. This 
phenomenon often occurs on the broad ocean, being 
either the expiring undulation of some past gale, 
or the movement given to the sea by some distant 
current of wind. It was nevertheless regarded 
with astonishment by the mariners, and dispelled 
the imaginary terrors occasioned by the calm. 

The situation of Columbus was, however, becom¬ 
ing daily more and more critical. In proportion 
as he approached the regions where he expected to 


11 4 COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 

find land, the impatience of his crew increased. 
What was to become of them should their provi¬ 
sions fail? 

Their ships were too weak and defective even 
for the great voyage they had already made, but if 
they were still to press forward, adding at every 
moment to the immense expanse behind them, how 
should they ever be able to return, having no inter¬ 
vening port where they might victual and refit? 

They had already penetrated unknown seas, un¬ 
traversed by a sail, far beyond where man had ever 
before ventured. They had done enough to gain for 
themselves a character for courage and hardihood 
in undertaking such an enterprise, and persisting 
in it so far. How much farther were they to go 
in search of a merely conjectured land? Were they 
to sail on until they perished, or until all return 
became impossible? In such case they would be the 
authors of their own destruction. 

. Columbus was not ignorant of the mutinous 
disposition of his crew, but he still maintained a 
serene and steady countenance, soothing some with 
gentle words, endeavoring to stimulate the pride or 
avarice of others, and openly menacing the refrac¬ 
tory with signal punishment should they do any¬ 
thing to impede the voyage. 

On the 25th of September the wind again became 
favorable, and they were able to resume their course 
directly to the west. While Columbus, his pilot, and 
several of his experienced mariners were studying 
a map, and endeavoring to make out from it their 
actual position, they heard a shout from the “Pinta,” 
and, looking up, beheld Martin Alonzo Pinzon 
mounted on the stem of his vessel, crying, “Land! 
Land! Senor, I claim my reward!” He pointed at 


THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 


ii 5 

the same time to the southwest, where there was in¬ 
deed an appearance of land in the distance. Upon 
this, Columbus threw himself upon his knees, and 
returned thanks to God. 

The 'seamen now mounted to the masthead, or 
climbed about the rigging, straining their eyes in 
the direction pointed out. The conviction became 
so general of land in that quarter, and the joy of 
the people so ungovernable, that Columbus found 
it necessary to vary from his usual course and 
stand all night to the southwest. 

The morning light, however, put an end to their 
hopes, as to a dream. The fancied land proved to 
be nothing but an evening cloud, and had vanished 
in the night. With dejected hearts they once more 
resumed their western course, from which Colum¬ 
bus would never have varied but in compliance 
with their cfamorous wishes. 

For several days they continued on with the 
same favorable breeze, tranquil sea, and mild, de¬ 
lightful weather. The water was so calm that the 
sailors amused themselves with swimming about 
the vessel. Dolphins began to abound, and flying- 
fish, darting into the air, fell upon the decks. The 
continued signs of land diverted the attention of 
the crews, and insensibly allured them onward. 

On the 1st of October, according to the reckon¬ 
ing of the pilot of the admiral's ship, they had 
come five hundred and eighty leagues west since 
leaving the Canary islands. On the following day 
the weeds floated from east to west, and on the 
third day no birds were to be seen. 

The crews now began to fear that they had 
passed between islands, from one to the other of 
which the birds had been flying. Columbus had 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


116 

also some doubts of the kind, but refused to alter 
his westward course. The people again uttered 
menaces and murmurs, but on the following day 
they were visited by such flights of birds, and the 
various indications of land became so numerous, 
that from a state of despondency they passed to 
one of confident expectation. 

On the morning of the 7th of October, at sun¬ 
rise, several of the admiral's crew thought that they 
beheld land in the west, but so indistinctly that no 
one ventured to proclaim it. The “Nina," however, 
being a good sailor, pressed forward to ascertain the 
fact. In a little while a flag was hoisted at her 
masthead, and a gun discharged, these being the 
preconcerted signals for land. 

New joy was awakened throughout the little 
squadron, and every eye was turned to the west. 
As they advanced, however, their cloud-built hopes 
faded away, and before evening the fancied land 
had again melted into air. The crew now sunk 
into a state of dejection proportioned to their recent 
excitement; but new circumstances occurred to 
arouse them. 

Columbus, having observed great flights of small 
field birds going toward the southwest, concluded 
they must be secure of some neighboring land, 
where they would find food and a resting place. 
He knew the importance which the Portuguese 
voyagers attached to the flight of birds, by follow¬ 
ing which they had discovered most of their islands. 
He determined, therefore, on the evening of the 7th 
of October, to alter his course to the west-southwest, 
the direction in which the birds generally flew. 

For three days they stood in this direction, and 


THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 


ll 7 


the farther they went the more frequent and en¬ 
couraging were the signs of land. Flights of small 
birds of various colors, some of them such as sing 
in the fields, came flying about the ships, and then 
continued toward the southwest, and others were 
heard flying by in the night. Tunnies played about 
in the smooth sea, and a heron, a pelican, and 
a duck were seen, all bound in the same direction. 

All these, however, were regarded by the crew 
as so many delusions beguiling them on to destruc¬ 
tion; and when, on the evening of the third day, 
they beheld the sun go down upon a shoreless 
horizon, they broke forth into turbulent clamor. 
They insisted upon returning home, and abandon¬ 
ing the voyage as hopeless. 

Columbus endeavored to pacify them by gentle 
words and promises of large rewards; but, finding 
that they only increased in clamor, he assumed a 
decided tone. He told them it was useless to mur¬ 
mur; the expedition had been sent by the sover¬ 
eigns to seek the Indies, and, happen what might, 
he was determined to persevere until, by the blessing 
of God, he should accomplish the enterprise. 

Columbus was now at open defiance with his 
crew, and his situation became desperate. Fortu¬ 
nately the manifestations of the vicinity of land 
were such on the following day as no longer to 
admit of doubt. Besides a quantity of fresh weeds, 
such as grow in rivers, they saw a green fish of a 
kind which keeps about rocks; then a branch of 
thorn with berries on it, and recently separated 
from a tree, floated by them; then they picked 
up a reed, a small board, and, above all, a staff 
artificially carved. 

All gloom and mutiny now gave way to sanguine 


118 COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 

expectation; and throughout the day each one was 
eagerly on the watch, in hopes of being the one to 
discover the long-sought-for land. The breezes 
had been fresh all day, with more sea than usual, 
and they had made great progress. At sunset they 
had stood again to the west, and were plowing the 
waves at a rapid rate, the “Pinta” keeping the lead 
from her superior sailing. 

The greatest animation prevailed throughout the 
ships; not an eye was closed that night. As the 
evening darkened, Columbus took his station on the 
top of the castle or cabin of his vessel, ranging his 
eye along the dusky horizon and maintaining an 
intense and unremitting watch. 

About ten o'clock he thought he beheld a light 
glimmering at a great distance. Fearing his eager 
hopes might deceive him, he called to one of his 
men and inquired whether he saw such a light; 
the latter replied in the affirmative. Doubtful 
whether it might not yet be some delusion of the 
fancy, Columbus called to still another and made 
the same inquiry. 

By the time the latter had ascended the round¬ 
house the light had disappeared. They saw it once 
or twice afterward in sudden and passing gleams, 
as if it were a torch on the bark of a fisherman, 
rising and sinking with the waves, or in the hand 
of some person on shore, borne up and down as he 
passed from house to house. So transient and un¬ 
certain were these gleams that few attached any 
importance to them; Columbus, however, consid¬ 
ered them as certain signs of land, and-, moreover, 
that the land was inhabited. 

They continued their course until two in the 
morning, when a gun from the “Pinta” gave the 


THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 


TI 9 

joyful signal of land. It was first descried by a mar¬ 
iner named Rodrigo de Triana; but the reward was 
afterward adjudged to the admiral for having pre¬ 
viously perceived the light. The land was now 
clearly seen about two leagues distant, whereupon 
they took in sail and lay to, impatiently waiting 
for the dawn. 

It was on Friday morning, the 12th of October, 
that Columbus first beheld the New World. As the 
day dawned he saw before him a level island several 
leagues in extent and covered with trees like a 
continuous orchard. Though apparently uncul¬ 
tivated, it was populous, for the inhabitants were 
seen issuing from all parts of the woods and run¬ 
ning to the shore. They stood gazing at the ships, 
and appeared by their attitudes and gestures to be 
lost in astonishment. 

Columbus made signal for the ships to cast 
anchor, and the boats to be manned and armed. 
He entered his own boat, richly attired in scarlet, 
and holding the royal standard, having on either 
side the letters F and Y, the initials of the Cas¬ 
tilian monarchs Ferdinand and Ysabel, surmounted 
by crowns. 

On landing he threw himself upon his knees, 
kissed the earth, and returned thanks to God with 
tears of joy. His example was followed by the rest, 
whose hearts indeed overflowed with the same feel¬ 
ings of gratitude. 

Columbus, then rising, drew his sword, displayed 
the royal standard, and assembling around him the 
two captains, with the notary of the armament and 
the rest who had landed, he took solemn posses¬ 
sion in the name of the Castilian sovereigns, giving 
the island the name of San Salvador. 


120 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


The feelings of the crews now burst forth in the 
most extravagant transports. They had recently 
considered themselves devoted men hurrying for¬ 
ward to destruction; now they looked upon them¬ 
selves as favorites of fortune, and gave themselves 
up to the most unbounded joy. They thronged 
around the admiral with overflowing zeal; some 
embraced him, others kissed his hands. 

The natives of the island, when, at the dawn of 
day, they had beheld the ships hovering on their 
coasts, had supposed them monsters which had 
issued from the deep during the night. They had 
crowded to the beach, and watched their movements 
with awful anxiety. Their veering about, apparently 
without effort, and the shifting and furling of their 
sails, resembling huge wings, filled them with aston¬ 
ishment. When they beheld their boats approaching 
and a number of strange beings, clad in glittering 
steel, or raiment of various colors, landing upon 
the beach, they fled in affright to the woods. 

Finding, however, that there was no attempt to 
pursue or molest them, they gradually recovered 
from their terror, and approached the Spaniards 
with great awe, frequently prostrating themselves 
on the earth and making signs of adoration. 

The admiral particularly attracted their atten¬ 
tion from his commanding height, his air of au¬ 
thority, his dress of scarlet, and the deference 
which was paid him by his companions, all of which 
pointed him out to be commander. When they 
had still further recovered from their fears, they 
approached the Spaniards, touched their beards, 
and examined their hands and faces, admiring their 
whiteness. 

Columbus was pleased with their gentleness and 


THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 


121 


confiding simplicity, and suffered their scrutiny 
with perfect acquiescence, winning them by his 
benignity. They now supposed that the ships had 
sailed out of the crystal firmanent which bounded 
their horizon, or had descended from above on their 
ample wings, and that these marvelous beings were 
inhabitants of the skies. 

—Washington Irving 


Tell in your own words what the following expressions 
taken from “The Discovery of America’’ mean. If you are 
not sure, look up in your dictionary the words that you are in 
doubt about. 

1. A profound calm kept the vessels loitering with flagging 

sails. 

2. The Canary islands about nine leagues distant. 

3. Everything was chaos , mystery , and peril . 

4. Some broke into loud lamentations. 

5. The admiral tried to sooth their distress. 

6. Transient clouds and showers. 

7. Each ship strove to get in the advance. 

8. Pressing onward into that apparently boundless abyss. 

9. Their song cheered the dismayed mariners. 

10. Their ships were defective. 

11. They had penetrated unknown seas untraversed by 
a sail, far beyond where man had ever ventured. 

12. A merely conjectured land. 

13. In compliance with their clamorous wishes. 

14. The “Nina” pressed forward to ascertain the fact. 

15. All these were regarded by the crew as so many delusions 
beguiling them to destruction. 

16. They broke into turbulent clamor. 

17. Columbus endeavored to pacify them. 

18. All gloom and mutiny now gave way to sanguine ex¬ 
pectation. 

19. It [the island] was populous. 

20. Columbus suffered their scrutiny with perfect acquies¬ 
cence , winning them by his benignity. 


122 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


SPEED TEST III 

To the pupil: Read these directions and then wait until 
your teacher gives the signal “Begin.” 

You are to read “The New Word” story as rapidly as 
you can and still know all that you read, the purpose of the 
test being to determine your speed in silent reading and your 
ability to reproduce rather fully what you have read. When 
you have finished the story, close your book and raise your 
hand so that your teacher may enter your name in the proper 
time space on the blackboard. You are then to take a sheet 
of paper and write as much of the story as you can remember. 
Be sure to include all that you recall, since the number of well- 
chosen words in your written story will be divided by the number 
of words in the original story (850) to determine the per cent 
you remembered. The more you recall to write, the greater 
will be your per cent grade. Now, at the signal, begin. 

To the teacher: Before starting this speed test, put a vertical 
time table on the blackboard arranged in quarter-minute 
intervals, thus: 2, 2^, 2^, 2^, 3, 3^, etc., up to perhaps 
eight or ten minutes. As each pupil indicates that he has com¬ 
pleted the reading enter his name or initials opposite the nearest 
time interval as shown by your watch. 

To obtain the speed in words per minute, have each pupil 
divide the number of words in the story (850) by the number 
of minutes required for him to read the selection. Keep this 
record for future reference. The speed for this grade should 
vary from 180 to 278 words per minute. 

To determine the grade of comprehension and memory, 
have each pupil divide the number of words in his written 
reproduction by 850, and keep this information also for further 
reference. The average per cent grade in reproduction for a 
fifth-grade class should be about 40 per cent for such a selection. 

THE NEW WORD 

“Mother! Mrs. Gray wants you at the telephone,” 
said Alan Ware. 

Mrs. Ware, who was baking cakes, closed the 


THE NEW WORD 


123 


oven door and went into the hall. Alan lingered, 
for his mother always made a special cake for him, 
and he thought that it might be ready. 

"I’ll call you up in five minutes,” he heard his 
mother say. ‘Til ask him.” 

She came into the kitchen. 

“Alan,” she began, “would you like to earn a 
little money during the vacation?” 

Alan hesitated. Money was something he always 
needed, but earning it meant that he would have 
to work. 

“Mrs. Gray is leaving home for six weeks,” his 
mother continued, “and she wants some one to 
feed her chickens every night and morning. The 
boy who does it may have the eggs. If you do it, I 
will buy the eggs.” 

“Oh, that's easy!” Alan's eyes sparkled. “I'll 
do it.” 

“Wait a minute,” said his mother; “think it over. 
I don't want you to undertake it, Alan, unless you 
mean to carry it through. If you feed Mrs. Gray's 
chickens, you cannot go away for week-ends to 
Aunt Kate's.” 

“I don't think I want to—very much,” said Alan. 
“I might make enough money to buy snowshoes, or 
new skates.” 

“Eggs are uncertain,” his mother warned him; 
but, as Alan was still pleased with the idea, Mrs. 
Ware telephoned her friend that Alan would under¬ 
take the work. 

For the first week, it was fun. To be sure, Alan 
had to rise earlier than he liked to do, and once or 
twice he had to leave an exciting game before it 
ended, to be in time for his evening work. But he 
had made a dollar and ten cents. 


124 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


The second week went smoothly by. But early 
in the third week Aunt Kate wrote that she had a 
new little pony, and that Alan might come and learn 
to drive him. 

“Oh, I do want to go!” he said. “Can’t I pay 
Jack Burns to feed the chickens?” 

“No, my son. You promised Mrs. Gray that you, 
and not Jack Burns, would feed them. The holidays 
last nine weeks,” went on Mrs. Ware. “You may 
go to Aunt Kate’s for the whole of the seventh week.” 

“That’s a long wait! I wish I’d never begun 
it!” grumbled Alan. “None of the other fellows 
are working.” 

In that week he was twice late at his work; he 
found a smaller number of eggs, and his pay dropped 
to eighty cents. 

“That’s not much for working like a farm hand!” 
he grumbled to Jack Burns. 

“I’d think eighty cents was a lot,” replied Jack. 
“I wish I had such a job.” 

“Now, Alan,” said his mother one morning, when 
the postman brought her a letter, “here is your 
chance to break off your contract. Mrs. Gray is 
coming home next week. You may take Jack Burns 
up to her, and if she likes to engage him she can 
do so.” 

“And I’ll be glad!” declared Alan. “I never want 
to work in the holidays again.” 

He got through the rest of the fourth week some¬ 
how, and in due time Mrs. Gray returned for a 
brief stay, and engaged Jack Burns. 

“I made a dollar and a quarter,” he said to Alan 
at the end of the first week of his contract, and 
the fifth of Mrs. Gray’s absence. 


THE NEW WORD 


I2 5 


Alan felt a little pang. If he had kept on, he 
might have had five dollars—a noble sum. He 
began to wish that he had. 

Then one morning as he was yawning because 
he had nothing to do, and realizing that the work 
had made the rest of the day more of a holiday, 
Jack came up with his eggs. Mrs. Ware bought 
them of Jack. 

“These’ll be the last,” Jack said, as he took the 
twenty cents she gave him. “Mr. Gray is coming 
home to-night, and he’s going to feed the chickens.” 

“I’m sorry that you didn’t have your full time,” 
Mrs. Ware replied kindly. 

“Well, I don’t mind that as much as I did,” 
answered Jack—and, as a matter of fact, his eyes 
were shining so that you could see he did not mind 
at all. “Mr. Gray is going to employ me all this 
week, and perhaps next. He wants me to go in 
with him every day, and run errands, and to come 
back with him at night.” 

Alan turned sharply round. 

“Go in with him! Come back with him! In 
his car!” he cried. 

“Yes,” said Jack, fairly bubbling over, “and he 
says some days he’ll have to go forty miles, and 
that I can go with him. And he’s going to pay me, 
too. Good morning.” 

Jack lifted his cap, and dashed down the steps, 
whistling. As Alan stared after him, his round face 
grew longer every minute. 

“Forty miles! In an automobile!” he said very 
soberly. “I wish I hadn’t quit.” 

“Well, perhaps you won’t the next time,” his 


126 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


mother said, to comfort him. “But you must 
cultivate stick-to-it-ive-ness. That is a new word. 
Think about it.” 

—Frances Harmer 

Courtesy of “The Youth's Companion ' 


A TEST OF UNDERSTANDING 

1. The Governor is elected by the people. Who elects the 
Governor? Write your answer on the first line of your paper. 

2. The air is balmy, the sky is blue and the sun is shining 
in all his glory. 

Write the words that describe on the second line of your 
paper. 

3. The parade is passing. The leader is carrying a large 
American Flag. 

What should we do as the Flag goes by? 

Write your answer on the third line of your paper. 

4. Father and Mother ask their children to be careful 
about crossing the road or the street. Are Father and Mother 
right? 

Write your answer on the fourth line of your paper. 

5. Six birds flew by and a hunter shot 2 of them. How 
many birds were there in all? 

Write your answer on fifth line of your paper. 

Your teacher will time you. Write your name and grade 
on the sixth line of your paper. 


WELFARE ORGANIZATIONS 


127 


WELFARE ORGANIZATIONS 

It would be difficult to keep track of the many, 
many organizations that have been formed by 
men and women, boys and girls, to improve the 
conditions of living creatures and to help both 
animals and people when they are in trouble. There 
are small local groups carrying on such work every¬ 
where; there are national organizations banded 
together for like purposes. The three stories that 
follow tell of the work of welfare organizations or 
groups made up of people whose object is to see 
that others fare well. 

The first story tells us about a poor little girl 
who was made happy by the workers of the Red 
Cross, an organization about which you have heard 
and to which you will no doubt belong before long. 
When a great fire comes along and burns down 
homes and places of business, driving the people 
into the streets and stopping their chance to go on 
working to make a living, or when a volcano or a 
flood destroys people's property, or when an earth¬ 
quake shakes things to pieces, then the Red Cross 
hastens to send some of its workers to the spot, 
and they set up relief stations so as to take care of 
the sufferers. Members of the organization from 
all over send help, provisions, and money, so that 
soon the distressed people are relieved. 

The story of “The Empty Stocking" tells about 
one little girl whose daddy was lost in the San 
Francisco, California, disaster which occurred several 
years ago. An earthquake followed by terrific 
fires swept away hundreds of homes and killed 
thousands of people at that time, and the Red 
Cross workers did some wonderful work in helping 
those who were left. 


128 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


The other organization illustrated by stories 
here is the Band of Mercy, which looks after poor 
dumb animals and their welfare. You will be 
interested in finding out more about these two 
and many other groups that are helping to make 
living easier and happier. 

Read “The Empty Stocking” with the idea of telling it to 
some of your friends or to your parents who may not have read 
the story. 

THE EMPTY STOCKING 

Her name is Reddy Ringlets. At least she says 
so, and no one, so far, has ever been found to say 
otherwise. When asked her name, she answered: 
“Why, don't you know? My name is Reddy Ring-* 
lets!" 

She must have been four years old. She was only 
half-dressed. She wore stockings and one shoe. 

When they found her there in Golden Gate 
Park, the third day of the fire, she was carrying an 
old wax doll with a broken nose. She walked around, 
looking, and looking, and looking. 

A soldier asked her, “Whom are you trying to find, 
little girl?" 

“I’m looking for my Daddy and my Precious. 
And this is my Dolly Dimple. She's awful hungry. 
Have you seen my Daddy and my Precious?" 

And the soldier, busy with other things, hadn't 
seen them. 

When asked her Daddy's other name, she answered. 
“Just Daddy." 

She spoke as plainly as a full-grown woman. 
Where her parents were, or where they had lived, or 
how she had wandered to Golden Gate Park, no 
one knew. 


THE EMPTY STOCKING 


129 


In the park were many tents. Bedding, furniture, 
horses, and wagons strewed the ground. Soldiers 
here and there were on guard. Many of the women 
wore men’s clothing—suits of overalls and jumpers. 
Some laughed and sang. Others wept and refused 
to be consoled. There were mothers looking for 
their children, and children looking for their mothers. 
And over to the east, over what three days before 
had been a glorious city, now hung a black, angry 
pall of smoke. It was a scene of dire confusion. The 
sick, the dying, the laughing, romping folks who 
regarded it all as a big picnic, mingled in a common 
camaraderie. 

And through it all wandered little Reddy Ringlets, 
tearless and unafraid, looking for her Daddy and 
her Precious. 

A group of people at a bonfire were eating. Little 
Reddy Ringlets approached. 

“Dolly Dimple is awful hungry,” she said. 

“Bless her dear heart!” said a kind woman. “You 
mean you are hungry.” 

And so the little girl was warmed and fed. 

A curious and strange old woman stood by the 
bonfire and watched little Reddy Ringlets as she 
ate and now and then offered her doll some of the 
crackers. 

“That’s my grandchild,” cried the old woman 
with a chuckle. “I’ll take her to her mother. Come 
with Granny,-little one, and we’ll find your Ma!” 

The old woman had a sharp chin and a sharp 
nose. She had no teeth, and her voice was high 
and cracked. Confidingly the little girl allowed 
herself to be led away. 


1 3° 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


“That isn't her child, or any kin of hers," said 
the woman who was doing the cooking. 

“Never mind," said her husband, as he drank 
coffee out of a tin cup; “never mind—what dif¬ 
ference is it? Haven't we a few troubled of our 
own?" 

The earthquake and great fire were in April. 
The months went by as the months do. It was 
Christmas morning. 

Down beyond Chinatown stood a rickety old 
tenement, one of the kind that fire and death had 
scorned to touch. 

The Italian who kept the fruit-stand on the corner 
was talking to the policeman on the beat. 

“You had better go up and see about it—she's 
a lovely little girl. No one knows where that crazy 
old ragpicker got her. The old woman went out 
at daylight with her bag on her back, and she's 
locked the child in. It's the gable-room back, next 
to the roof. I’ll go with you." 

They climbed the shaky stairs, up and up and up. 
They reached the top floor. The hall was dark. They 
felt for the door-latch. The door was locked. The 
policeman threw his shoulder against it, and it 
gave way. They entered. 

The room was almost bare of furniture, cold, dirty, 
unkempt. To the left was a little bedroom about 
as big as a dry-goods box. The policeman was 
about to enter, when he heard a child's voice. He 
paused and peered in. He saw an empty stocking 
pinned to the wall at the foot of the bed. 

Kneeling at the bedside, in an attitude of prayer, 
was a little girl. The morning sun sent a luminous 


THE EMPTY STOCKING 


U 1 

ray of light on her head, golden with ringlets. The 
policeman, big and brave, just stood there. He 
listened, and these were the words he heard: 

“Oh, God! You forgot me and Dolly Dimple 
this time, and there isn’t any Santa Claus, for my 
stocking is empty. And I am cold and hungry. 
Hurry up, please Mister God, and find my Daddy 
and my Precious, and I’ll be a good girl and never 
cry any more, even when the old woman whips me!” 

And as he listened, the tears began to run down 
the big policeman’s nose. 

He wrapped little Reddy Ringlets in an old 
blanket and carried her gently down the stairs, 
and all the time she held fast to a very dirty wax 
doll which she called Dolly Dimple. 

The old Italian down on the street gave the 
little girl an orange, and at the station-house the 
matron gave her a bag of candy. 

Little Reddy Ringlets never found her Daddy 
or her Precious. Were they caught in the fire, 
crushed by falling walls, or did they fall victims to 
some yawning crevasse? No one can say. 

But now little Reddy Ringlets has a home with a 
rancher and his good wife, out beyond the hills 
of Sausalito. And when Christmas comes and she 
hangs up her stocking, it is never empty. 

—Elbert Hubbard 
Courtesy of the Roy crofters 


Aunt Susan : “The Judge’s baby is following right 
in his father’s footsteps.” 

Uncle Ben: “What makes you think so?” 

Aunt Susan: “Why, he pronounced his first sen¬ 
tence yesterday!” —Life 



132 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


A BAND OF MERCY 

The book from which the following story was taken is 
Beautiful Joe. The author of the story, Marshall Saunders, 
tells us that Beautiful Joe was a real dog and that “Beautiful 
Joe” was his real name. The dog tells his own life history in 
a most interesting way, and if you have not already read the 
book you will enjoy doing so. 

Beautiful Joe was a brown dog of medium size, not a 
thoroughbred, only a cur, he tells us. He says: “When my 
mistress went every year to register me and pay my tax, and 
the man in the office asked what breed I was, she said part 
fox-terrier and part bull-terrier; but he always put me down a 
cur. I don’t think she liked having him call me a cur; still, I 
have heard her say that she preferred curs, for they have more 
character than well-bred dogs.” 

Beautiful Joe was owned by various persons both kind and 
cruel, but the owner at the time that he is talking about in this 
part of the story is his favorite one, Miss Laura. Perhaps, 
after reading this selection, you will be interested in forming a 
Band of Mercy and have regular meetings, like the grown-ups, 
in order to prevent cruelty to animals. 

A few evenings after we came to Dingley Farm, 
Mrs. Wood and Miss Laura were sitting out on 
the veranda, and I was lying at their feet. 

“Auntie,” said Miss Laura, “what do those letters 
mean on that silver pin that you wear with that 
piece of ribbon ?” 

“You know what the white ribbon means, don’t 
you?” asked Mrs. Wood. 

“Yes; that you are a temperance woman, doesn’t 
it?” 

“It does; and the star pin means that I am a 
member of a Band of Mercy. Do you know what 
a Band of Mercy is?” 

“No,” said Miss Laura. 


A BAND OF MERCY 


133 


How strange! I should think that you would 
have several in Fairport. A cripple boy, the son 
of a Boston artist, started this one here. It has 
done a great deal of good. There is a meeting 
to-morrow and I will take you to it if you like.” 

It was on Monday that Mrs. Wood had this talk 
with Miss Laura, and the next afternoon, after all 
the work was done, they got ready to go to the 
village. 

“May Joe go?” asked Miss Laura. 

“Certainly,” said Mrs. Wood; “he is such a good 
dog that he won’t be any trouble.” 

I was very glad to hear this, and trotted along 
by them down the lane to the road. The lane was 
a very cool and pleasant place. There were tall 
trees growing on each side, and under them, among 
the grass, pretty wild flowers were peeping out to 
look at us as we went by. 

Mrs. Wood and Miss Laura talked all the way 
about the Band of Mercy. Miss Laura was much 
interested, and said that she would like to start 
one in Fairport. 

“It is a very simple thing,” said Mrs. Wood. “All 
you have to do is to write the pledge at the top of a 
piece of paper: T will try to be kind to all harmless 
living creatures, and try to protect them from cruel 
usage,’ and get thirty people to sign it. That makes 
a band. 

“I have formed two or three bands by keeping 
slips of paper ready and getting people that come 
to visit me to sign them. I call them ‘Corresponding 
Bands,’ for they are too far apart to meet. I send 
the members ‘Band of Mercy’ papers, and I get 
such nice letters from them, telling me of kind 
things they do for animals. 


134 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


“A Band of Mercy in a place is a splendid thing. 
There’s the greatest difference in Riverdale since 
this one was started. A few years ago, when a 
man beat or raced his horse, and any one interfered, 
he said: 'This horse is mine, I’ll do what I like 
with him.’ Most people thought he was right, but 
now ‘they’re all for the poor horse, and there isn’t a 
man anywhere around who would dare to abuse 
any animal. 

"It’s all the children. They’re doing a grand work, 
and I say it’s a good thing for them. Since we’ve 
studied this subject, it’s enough to frighten one to 
read what is sent us about our American boys and 
girls. Do you know, Laura, that with all our brag 
about our schools and colleges, that really are 
wonderful, we’re turning out more criminals than 
any other civilized country in the world, except 
Spain and Italy? The cause of it is said to be lack 
of proper training for the youth of our land. 

"Children who are taught to love and protect 
dumb creatures will be kind to their fellow-men 
when they grow up.” 

I was very much pleased with this talk between 
Mrs. Wood and Miss Laura, and kept close to them, 
so that I would not miss a word. 

As we went along, houses began to appear here 
and there, set back from the road among the trees. 
Soon they got quite close together, and I saw some 
shops. > 

This was the village of Riverdale, and nearly all 
the buildings were along this winding street. The 
river was away back of the village. We had already 
driven there several times. 

We passed the school on our way. it was a square 


A BAND OF MERCY 


*35 


white building, standing in the middle of a large 
yard. Boys and girls, with their arms full of books, 
were hurrying down the steps, and coming into the 
street. Two quite big boys came behind us, and 
Mrs. Wood turned around and spoke to them, and 
asked if they were going to the Band of Mercy. 

“Oh, yes, ma’am,” said the younger one. “Fve 
got a recitation, don't you remember?" 

“Yes, yes, excuse me for forgetting," said Mrs. 
Wood, with her jolly laugh. “And here are Dolly, 
and Jennie, and Martha," she went on, as some 
little girls came running out of a house that we were 
passing. 

The little girls joined us, and looked so hard at 
my head, and stump of a tail, and my fine collar, 
that I felt quite shy, and walked with my head 
against Miss Laura’s dress. 

She stooped down and patted me, and then I 
felt as if I didn’t care how much they stared. Miss 
Laura never forgot me. No matter how earnestly 
she was talking, or playing a game, or doing anything, 
she always stopped occasionally to give me a word or 
look, to show that she knew I was near. 

Mrs. Wood paused in front of a building on the 
main street. A great many boys and girls were 
going in, and we went with them. We found our¬ 
selves in a large room, with a platform at one end 
of it. There were some chairs on this platform, and 
a small table. 

A boy stood by this table with his hand on a bell. 
Presently he rang it, and then every one kept still. 
Mrs. Wood whispered to Miss Laura that this boy 
was the president of the band, and the young man 


T 3 6 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


with the pale face and curly hair who sat in front 
of him was Mr. Maxwell, the artist's son, who had 
formed this Band of Mercy. 

The lad who presided had a ringing, pleasant voice. 
He said they would begin their meeting by singing 
a hymn. There was an organ near the platform, 
and a young girl played on it, while all the other 
boys and girls stood up, and sang very sweetly 
and clearly. 

After they had sung the hymn, the president asked 
for the report of their last meeting. 

A little girl, blushing and hanging her head, came 
forward, and read what was written on a paper 
that she held in her hand. 

The president made some remarks after she had 
finished, and then every one had to vote. It was 
just like a meeting of grown people, and I was 
surprised to see how good those children were. They 
did not frolic or laugh, but all seemed sober and 
listened attentively. 

After the voting was over, the president called 
upon John Turner to give a recitation. This was 
the boy whom we saw on the way there. He walked 
up to the platform, made a bow, and said that he 
had learned two stories for his recitation, out of the 
paper, Dumb Animals. One story was about a 
horse, and the other was about a dog, and he thought 
that they were two of the best animal stories on 
record. He would tell the horse story first. 

“A man in Missouri had to go to Nebraska to see 
about some land. He went on horseback, on a 
horse that he had trained himself, and that came 
at his whistle like a dog. On getting into Nebraska, 
he came to a place where there were two roads. One 


A BAND OF MERCY 


137 


went by a river, and the other went over the hill. 
The man saw that the travel went over the hill, but 
thought he'd take the river road. He didn't know 
that there was a quicksand across it, and that 
people couldn't use it in spring and summer. There 
used to be a sign board to tell strangers about it, but 
it had been taken away. The man got off his horse 
to let him graze, and walked along till he got so far 
ahead of the horse that he had to sit down and wait 
for him. Suddenly he found that he was on a quick¬ 
sand. His feet had sunk in the sand, and he could 
not get them out. He threw himself down, and 
whistled for his horse, and shouted for help, but 
no one came. He could hear some young people 
singing out on the river, but they could not hear 
him. The terrible sand drew him in almost to his 
shoulders, and he thought he was lost. At that 
moment the horse came running up, and stood by 
his master. The man was too low down to get hold 
of the saddle or bridle, so he took hold of the horse's 
tail, and told him to go. The horse gave an awful 
pull, and landed his master on safe ground." 

Everybody clapped his hands, and stamped when 
this story was finished, and called out: “The dog 
story—the dog story." 

The boy bowed and smiled, and began again. 
“You all know what a ‘round up' of cattle is, so I 
need not explain. Once a man down south was 
going to have one, and he and his boys and friends 
were talking it over. There was an ugly, black 
steer in the herd, and they were wondering whether 
their old, yellow dog would be able to manage him. 
The dog's name was Tige, and he lay and listened 
wisely to their talk. The next day there was a scene 
of great confusion. The steer raged and tore about, 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


138 

and would allow no one to come within whip touch 
of him. Tige, who had always been brave, skulked 
about for a while, and then, as if he had got up a 
little spirit, he made a run at the steer. The steer 
sighted him, gave a bellow, and, lowering his horns, 
ran at him. Tige turned tail, and the men that 
owned him were nearly frantic. They’d been praising 
him, and thought they were going to have it proven 
false. Their father called out: ‘Don’t shoot Tige, 
till you see where he’s running to!’ The dog ran 
right to the cattle pen. The steer was so enraged that 
he never noticed where he was going, and dashed in 
after him. Tige leaped the wall, and came back to 
the gate, barking and yelping for the men to come 
and shut the steer in. They shut the gate and petted 
Tige, and bought him a collar with a silver plate.” 

The boy was loudly cheered, and went to his 
seat. The president said he would like to have 
remarks made about these stories. 

Several children put up their hands, and he asked 
each one to speak in turn. One said that if that man’s 
horse had had a docked tail, his master wouldn’t 
have been able to reach it, and would have perished. 
Another said that if the man hadn’t treated his 
horse kindly, he never would have come at his 
whistle, and stood over him to see what he could 
do to help him. A third child said that the people 
on the river weren’t as quick at hearing the voice 
of the man in trouble as the horse was. 

When this talk was over, the president called 
for some stories of foreign animals. 

Another boy came forward, made his bow, and said, 
in a short, abrupt voice, “My uncle’s name is Henry 
Worthington. He is an Englishman, and once he 
was a soldier in India. One day when he was hunting 


A BAND OF MERCY 


l 39 


in the Punjab, he saw a mother monkey carrying a 
little dead baby monkey. Six months after, he 
he was in the same jungle. Saw same monkey still 
carrying dead baby monkey, all shriveled up. 
Mother monkey loved her baby monkey, and 
wouldn't give it up." 

The boy went to his seat, and the president, 
with a queer look in his face, said, “That’s a very 
good story, Ronald—if it is true." 

None of the children laughed, but Mrs. Wood’s 
face got like a red poppy, and Miss Laura bit her 
lip, and Mr. Maxwell buried his head in his arms, 
his whole frame shaking. 

The boy who told the story looked very angry. 
He jumped up again, “My uncle’s a true man, 
Phil Dodge, and never told a lie in his life." 

The president remained standing, his face a deep 
scarlet, and a tall boy at the back of the room got 
up and said, “Mr. President, what would be impos¬ 
sible in this climate might be possible in a hot 
country like India. Doesn’t heat sometimes draw 
up and preserve things?" 

The president’s face cleared. “Thank you for the 
suggestion," he said. “I don’t want to hurt any¬ 
body’s feelings; but you know there is a rule in the 
band that only true stories are to be told here. 
We have five more minutes for foreign stories. 
Has any one else one?" 

Three or four boys jumped up, but the president 
said they would take one at a time. The first one 
was this: A Riverdale boy was walking along the 
bank of a canal in Hoytville. He saw a boy driving 
two horses, which were towing a canal boat. The 
first horse was lazy, and the boy got angry and struck 
him several times over the head with his whip. 


140 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


The Riverdale boy shouted across to him, begging 
him not to be so cruel; but the boy paid no attention. 
Suddenly the horse turned, seized. his tormentor 
by the shoulder, and pushed him into the canal. 
The water was not deep, and the boy, after flounder¬ 
ing about for a few seconds, came out dripping 
with mud and filth, and sat down on the tow path, 
and looked at the horse with such a comical expression 
that the Riverdale boy had to stuff his handkerchief 
in his mouth to keep from laughing. 

“It is to be hoped that he would learn a lesson,” 
said the president, “and be kinder to his horse in 
the future. Now, Bernard Howe, your story.” 

The boy was a brother to the little boy who had 
told the monkey story, and he too had evidently 
been talking to his grandfather. He told two stories, 
and Miss Laura listened eagerly, for they were 
about Fairport. 

The boy said that when his grandfather was 
young, he lived in Fairport, Maine. On a certain 
day, he stood in the market square to see their first 
stagecoach put together. It had come from Boston 
in pieces, for there was no one in Fairport that could 
make one. The coach went away up into the country 
one day, and came back the next. For a long time 
no one understood driving the horses properly, 
and they came in day after day with the blood 
streaming from them. The whiffle-tree would swing 
round and hit them, and when their collars were 
taken off, their necks would be raw and bloody. 
After a time, the men got to understand how to drive 
a coach, and the horses did not suffer so much. 

The other story was about a team-boat, not a 
steam-boat. More than seventy years ago, they 
had no steamer running between Fairport and the 


A BAND OF MERCY i 4 i 

island opposite where people went for the summer, 
but they had what they called a team-boat, that is 
a boat with machinery to make it go, that could 
be worked by horses. There were eight horses 
that went around and around, and made the boat 
go. One afternoon, two dancing masters who were 
wicked fellows that played the fiddle, and never 
went to church on Sunday, got on the boat, and 
sat just where the horses had to pass them as they 
went around. 

Every time the horses went by, they jabbed them 
with their penknives. The man who was driving 
the horses at last saw the blood dripping from them, 
and the dancing masters were found out. Some 
young men on the boat were so angry that they 
caught up a rope's end, and gave the dancing masters 
a lashing, and then threw them into the water and 
made them swim to the island. 

Mr. Maxwell told a good story after this. He 
said the president need not have any fears as to its 
truth, for it happened in his boarding house in 
the village, and he had seen it himself. Monday, 
the day before, being wash day, his landlady had 
put out a large washing. Among the clothes on the 
line was a gray flannel shirt belonging to her husband. 
The young dog belonging to the house had pulled 
the shirt from the line and torn it to pieces. The 
woman put it aside and told him master would 
beat him. When the man came home to his dinner, 
he showed the dog the pieces of the shirt, and gave 
him a severe whipping. The dog ran away, visited 
all the clothes lines in the village, till he found a 
gray shirt very like his master's. He seized it and 
ran home, laying it at his master's feet, joyfully 
wagging his tail meanwhile. 


I 4 2 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


Mr. Maxwell’s story done, a bright-faced boy 
called Simon Grey got up and said: “You all know 
our old gray horse Ned. Last week father sold 
him to a man in Hoytville, and I went to the station 
when he was shipped. He was put in a box car. 
The doors were left a little open to give him air, 
and were locked in that way. There was a narrow, 
sliding door, four feet from the floor of the car, and 
in some way or other old Ned pushed this door 
open, crawled through it, and tumbled out on the 
ground. When I was coming from school, I saw 
him walking along the track. He hadn’t hurt 
himself, except for a few cuts. He was glad to see 
me, and followed me home. He must have gotten 
off the train when it was going full speed, for he 
hadn’t been seen at any of the stations, and the 
trainmen were astonished to find the doors locked 
and car empty, when they got to Hoytville. Father 
got the man who bought him to release him from 
his bargain, for he says if Ned is so fond of Riverdale, 
he shall stay here.” 

The president asked the boys and girls to give 
three cheers for old Ned, and then they had some 
more singing. After all had taken their seats, he 
said he would like to know what the members had 
been doing for animals during the past fortnight. 

One girl had kept her brother from shooting 
two owls that came about their barnyard. She 
told him that the owls would destroy the rats and 
mice that bothered him in the barn, but if he hunted 
them, they would go to the woods. 

A boy said that he had persuaded some of his 
friends who were going fishing to put their bait 
worms into a dish of boiling water to kill them 
before they started, and also to promise that, as 


A BAND OF MERCY 


T 43 


soon as they took their fish out of the water, they 
would kill them by a sharp blow on the back of the 
head. They were all the more ready to do this when 
he told them that their fish would taste better 
when cooked if they had been killed as soon as they 
were taken from the water into the air. 

A little girl had gotten her mother to say that 
she would never again put lobsters into cold water 
and slowly boil them to death. She had also stopped 
a man in the street who was carrying a pair of fowls 
with their heads down, and asked him if he would 
kindly reverse their position. The man told her 
that the fowls didn't mind, and she pursed up her 
small mouth and showed the band how she said 
to him, “I would prefer the opinion of the hens." 
Then she said he had laughed at her, and said, 
“Certainly, little lady," and had gone off carrying 
them as she wanted him to. She had also reasoned 
with different boys outside the village who were 
throwing stones at birds and frogs, and sticking 
butterflies, and had invited them to come to the 
Band of Mercy. 

This child seemed to have done more than any 
one else for dumb animals. She had taken around a 
petition to the village boys, asking them not to 
search for birds' eggs, and she had even gone into 
her father's stable, and asked him to hold her up, 
so that she could look into the horses' mouths to 
see if their teeth wanted filing or were decayed. 
When her father laughed at her, she told him that 
horses often suffer terrible pain from their teeth, and 
that sometimes a runaway is caused by a metal 
bit striking against the exposed nerve in the tooth of 
a horse that has become almost frantic with pain. 

She was a very gentle girl, and I think by the 


144 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


way that she spoke that her father loved her dearly, 
for she told how much trouble he had taken to make 
some tiny houses for her that she wanted for the 
wrens that came about their farm. She told him 
that those little birds are so good at catching insects 
that they ought to give all their time to it, and not 
have any worry about making houses. Her father 
made their homes very small, so that the English 
sparrows could not get in and crowd them out. 

A boy said that he had gotten a pot of paint, and 
painted in large letters on the fences around his 
father’s farm: “Spare the toads, don’t kill the 
birds. Every bird killed is a loss to the country.” 

“That reminds me,” said the president, “to ask 
the girls what they have done about the millinery 
business.” 

“I have told my mother,” said a tall, serious¬ 
faced girl, “that I think it is wrong to wear bird 
feathers, and she has promised to give up wearing 
any of them except ostrich plumes.” 

Mrs. Wood asked permission to say a few words 
just here, and the president said: “Certainly, we 
are always glad to hear from you.” 

She went up on the platform, and faced the roomful 
of children. “Dear boys and girls,” she began, “I 
have had some papers sent me from Boston, giving 
some facts about the killing of our birds, and I 
want to state a few of them to you: You all know 
that nearly every tree and plant that grows swarms 
with insect life, and that they couldn’t grow if the 
birds didn’t eat the insects that would devour 
their foliage. All day long, the little beaks of the 
birds are busy. The dear little rose-breasted gros¬ 
beak carefully examines the potato plants, and picks 


A BAND OF MERCY 


H5 


off the beetles, the martins destroy weevil, the 
quail and grouse family eats the chinchbug, the 
woodpeckers dig the worms from the trees, and 
many other birds eat the flies and gnats and mos¬ 
quitoes that torment us so. No flying or crawling 
creature escapes their sharp little eyes. A great 
Frenchman says that if it weren’t for the birds 
human beings would perish from the face of the earth. 
They are doing all this for us, and how are we reward¬ 
ing them? All over America they are hunted and 
killed. Five million birds must be caught every 
year for American women to wear in their hats and 
bonnets. Just think of it, girls. Isn’t it dreadful? 
Five million innocent, hard-working, beautiful birds 
killed that thoughtless girls and women may orna¬ 
ment themselves with their little dead bodies. One 
million bobolinks have been killed in one month 
near Philadelphia. Seventy song-birds were sent 
from one Long Island village to New York milliners. 

“In Florida cruel men shoot the mother birds 
on their nests while they are rearing their young, 
because their plumage is prettiest at that time. 
The little ones cry pitifully, and starve to death. 
Every bird of the rarer kinds that is killed, such 
as humming birds, orioles, and kingfishers, mearts 
the death of several others—that is, the young that 
starve to death, the wounded that fly away to die, 
and those whose plumage is so torn that it is not 
fit to put in a fine lady’s bonnet. In some cases 
where birds have gay wings, and the hunters do 
not wish the rest of the body, they tear off the 
wings from the living bird, and throw it away to die. 

“I am sorry to tell you such painful things, but 
I think you ought to know them. You will soon 
be men and women. Do what you can to stop 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


146 

this horrid trade. Our beautiful birds are being 
taken from us, and the insect pests are increasing. 
The state of Massachusetts has lost over one hundred 
thousand dollars because it did not protect its 
birds. The gypsy moth stripped the trees near 
Boston, and the state had to pay out all this money, 
and even then could not get rid of the moths. The 
birds could have done it better than the state, but 
they were all gone. My last words to you are, 
'Protect the birds.' ” 

Mrs. Wood went to her seat, and though the 
boys and girls had listened very attentively, none 
of them cheered her. Their faces looked sad, and 
they kept very quiet for a few minutes. I saw one 
or two little girls wiping their eyes. I think they 
felt sorry for the birds. 

"Has any boy done anything about blinders 
and checkreins?" asked the president, after a time. 

A brown-faced boy stood up. "I had a picnic 
last Monday," he said; “father let me cut all the 
blinders off our headstalls with my penknife." 

“How did you get him to consent to that?" 
asked the president. 

• “I told him," said the boy, “that I couldn't 
get to sleep for thinking of him. You know he drives 
a good deal late at night. I told him that every 
dark night he came from Sudbury I thought of the 
deep ditch alongside the road, and wished his 
horses hadn’t blinders on. And every night he 
comes from the Junction and has to drive along the 
river bank where the water has washed away the 
earth till the wheels of the wagon are within a foot 
or two of the edge, I wished again that his horses 
could see each side of them, for I knew they'd 


A BAND OF MERCY 


H7 

have sense enough to keep out of danger if they could 
see it. Father said that might be very true, and 
yet his horses had been broken with blinders, and 
didn't I think they would be inclined to shy if he 
took them off; and wouldn't they be frightened to 
look around and see the wagon wheels so near. 
I told him that for every accident that happened 
to a horse without blinders, several happened to 
a horse with them; and then I gave him Mr. Wood's 
opinion—Mr. Wood out at Dingley Farm. He 
says that the worst thing against blinders is that 
a frightened horse never knows when he has passed 
the thing that scared him. He always thinks it is 
behind him. The blinders are there and he can't 
see that he has passed it, and he can’t turn his head 
to have a good look at it. So often he goes tearing 
madly on; and sometimes lives are lost all on account 
of a little bit of leather fastened over a beautiful 
eye that ought to look out full and free at the world. 
That finished father. He said he’d take off his 
blinders, and if he had an accident, he'd send the 
bill for damages to Mr. Wood. But we've had no 
accident. The horses did act rather queerly at 
first, and started a little; but they soon got over it, 
and now they go as steady without blinders as 
they ever did with them.” 

The boy sat down, and the president said: “I think 
it is time that the whole nation threw off this foolish¬ 
ness of half covering their horses' eyes. Just put 
your hands up to your eyes, members of the band. 
Half cover them, and see how shut in you will feel; 
and how curious you will be to know what is going 
on beside you. Suppose a girl saw a mouse with 
her eyes half covered, wouldn’t she run?” 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


Everybody laughed, and the president asked 
some one to tell him who invented blinders. 

“An English nobleman,” shouted a boy, “who 
had a wall-eyed horse! He wanted to cover up the 
defect, and I think it is a great shame that all the 
American horses have to suffer because that English 
one had an ugly eye.” 

“So do I,” said the president. “Three groans 
for blinders, boys.” 

All the children in the room made three dreadful 
noises away down in their throats. Then they had 
another good laugh, and the president became sober 
again. “Seven more minutes,” he said; “this 
meeting has got to be let out at five sharp.” 

A tall girl at the back of the room rose, and said: 
“My little cousin has two stories that she would 
like to tell the band.” 

“Very well,” said the president, “bring her right 
along.” 

The big girl came forward, leading a tiny child 
whom she placed in front of the boys and girls. The 
child stared up into her cousin’s face, turning and 
twisting her white pinafore through her fingers. 
Every time the big girl took her pinafore away from 
her, she picked it up again. “Begin, Nannie,” said 
the big girl, kindly. 

“Well, Cousin Eleanor,” said the child, “you know 
Topsy, Graham’s pony. Well, Topsy would run 
away, and a big, big man came out to papa and said 
he would train Topsy. So he drove her every day, 
and beat her, and beat her, till he was tired, but still 
Topsy would run away. Then papa said he would 
not have the poor pony whipped so much, and he 
took her out a piece of bread every day, and he petted 
her, and now Topsy is very gentle, and never runs 
away.” 


A BAND OF MERCY 


149 


“Tell about Tiger,” said the girl. 

“Well, Cousin Eleanor,” said the child, “you know 
Tiger, our big dog. He used to be a bad dog, and 
when Dr. Fairchild drove up to the house he jumped 
up and bit at him. Dr. Fairchild used to speak kindly 
to him, and throw out bits of meat, and now when he 
comes. Tiger follows behind and wags his tail. Now 
give me a kiss.” 

The girl had to give her a kiss, right up there before 
every one, and what a stamping the boys made. 
The larger girl blushed and hurried back to her seat, 
with the child clinging to her hand. 

The next thing was to call for new members. 
Miss Laura got up and said she would like to join 
their Band of Mercy. I followed her up to the 
platform, while they pinned a little badge on her, 
and every one laughed at me. Then they sang, 
“God bless our native land,” and the president told 
us that we might all go home. 

It seemed to me a lovely thing for those children 
to meet together to talk about kindness to animals. 
They all had bright and good faces, and many of 
them stopped to pat me as I came out. One little 
girl gave me a biscuit from her school bag. 

Suggestions 

1. Tell the five instances that interested you most in the 
stories told at the Band of Mercy meeting. 

2. Be ready to tell at least two similar stories that you have 
known about in your own experience. 

3. What other stories about animals have you read in 
which the animals deserved a kind reward for their services? 


150 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


BLACK BEAUTY 

Black Beauty is the story of a horse. In this story the 
horse tells about the different things that happened in his 
life. The story opens with an account of Black Beauty’s 
early home and gives some of the things that happened while 
he was a colt. Only a few of the chapters of this famous animal 
story can be given in this book, but it is hoped that you will 
like them so much that you will get the book and read the whole 
story. 

I. My Breaking-in 

I was now beginning to grow handsome; my coat 
had grown fine and soft, and was bright black. 
I had one white foot, and a pretty white star on my 
forehead. I was thought very handsome; my 
master would not sell me till I was four years old; 
he said that lads ought not to work like men, and 
colts ought not to work like horses till they were 
quite grown up. 

When I was four years old, Squire Gordon came to 
look at me. He examined my eyes, my mouth, 
and my legs; he felt them all down; and then I had 
to walk and trot and gallop before him; he seemed to 
like me, and said, “When he has been well broken 
in, he will do very well.” 

My master said he would break me in himself, as 
he should not like me to be frightened or hurt, and 
he lost no time about it, for the next day he began. 

Everyone may not know what breaking-in is, 
therefore I will describe it. It means to teach a horse 
to wear a saddle and bridle, and to carry on his back 
a man, woman, or child; to go just the way they wish, 
and to go quietly. Besides this, he has to learn to 
wear a collar, a crupper, and a breeching, and to 
stand still while they are put on; then to have a cart 
or a chaise fixed behind, so that he cannot walk or 


BLACK BEAUTY 


151 

trot without dragging it after him; and he must go 
fast or slow, just as his driver wishes. He must never 
start at what he sees, or speak to other horses, or 
bite, or kick, or have any will of his own; but al¬ 
ways do his master’s will, even though he may be 
very tired or hungry; but the worst of all is, when his 
harness is once on, he may neither jump for joy nor 
lie down for weariness. So you see this breaking-in 
is a great thing. 

I had of course long been used to a halter and a 
headstall, and to be led about in the fields and lanes 
quietly, but now I was to have a bit and a bridle. 
My master gave me some oats as usual, and after a 
good deal of coaxing he got the bit into my mouth, 
and the bridle fixed, but it was a nasty thing! Those 
who have never had a bit in their mouths cannot 
think how bad it feels; a great piece of cold, hard 
steel as thick as a man’s finger to be pushed into one’s 
mouth, between one’s teeth, and over one’s tongue, 
with the ends coming out at the corner of your mouth, 
and held fast there by straps over your head, under 
your throat, round your nose, and under your chin; 
so that no way in the world can you get rid of the 
nasty hard thing; it is very bad! yes, very bad! 
at least I thought so; but I knew my mother always 
wore one when she went out, and all horses did when 
they were grown up; and so, what with the nice oats, 
and what with my master’s pats, kind words, and 
gentle ways, I got to wear my bit and bridle. 

Next came the saddle, but that was not half so 
bad; my master put it on my back very gently, 
while old Daniel held my head; he then made the 
girths fast under my body, patting and talking to me 
all the time; then I had a few oats, then a little lead¬ 
ing about; and this he did every day till I began to 


I 5 2 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


look for the oats and the saddle. At length, one morn¬ 
ing, my master got on my back and rode me round 
the meadow on the soft grass. It certainly did feel 
queer; but I must say I felt rather proud to carry 
my master, and as he continued to ride me a little 
every day, I soon became accustomed to it. 

The next unpleasant business was putting on the 
iron shoes; that too was very hard at first. My 
master went with me to the smith's forge, to see that 
I was not hurt or got any fright. The blacksmith 
took my feet in his hand, one after the other, and cut 
away some of the hoof. It did not pain me, so I 
stood still on three legs till he had done them all. 
Then he took a piece of iron the shape of my foot, 
and clapped it on, and drove some nails through the 
shoe quite into my hoof, so that the shoe was firmly 
on. My feet felt very stiff and heavy, but in time I 
got used to it. 

And now having got so far, my master went on to 
break me to harness; there were more new things to 
wear. First, a stiff, heavy collar just on my neck, 
and a bridle with great side-pieces against my eyes, 
called blinkers, and blinkers indeed they were, for 
I could not see on either side, but only straight in 
front of me; next, there was a small saddle with a 
nasty stiff strap that went right under my tail; 
that was the crupper. I hated the crupper—to 
have my long tail doubled up and poked through 
that strap was almost as bad as the bit. I never felt 
more like kicking, but of course I could not kick such 
a good master, and so in time I got used to every¬ 
thing, and could do my work as well as my mother. 

I must not forget to mention one part of my 
training, which I have always considered a very great 
advantage. My master sent me for a fortnight to 


BLACK BEAUTY 


J 53 


a neighboring farmer's, who had a meadow which 
was skirted on one side by the railway. Here were 
some sheep and cows, and I was turned in amongst 
them. 

I shall never forget the first train that ran by. 
I was feeding quietly near the pales which separated 
the meadow from the railway, when I heard a strange 
sound at a distance, and before I knew whence it 
came—with a rush and a clatter, and a puffing out 
of smoke—a long black train of something flew by, 
and was gone almost before I could draw my breath. 
I turned and galloped to the further side of the 
meadow as fast as I could go, and there I stood 
snorting with astonishment and fear. In the course 
of the day many trains went by, some more slowly; 
these drew up at the station close by, and sometimes 
made an awful shriek and groan before they stopped. 
I thought it very dreadful, but the cows went on 
eating very quietly, and hardly raised their heads 
as the black, frightful thing came puffing and grind¬ 
ing past. 

For the first few days I could not feed in peace; 
but as I found that this terrible creature never came 
into the field, or did me any harm, I began to dis¬ 
regard it, and very soon I cared as little about the 
passing of a train as the cows and sheep did. 

Since then I have seen many horses much alarmed 
and restive at the sight or sound of a steam engine; 
but thanks to my good master’s care, I am as fear¬ 
less at railway stations as in my own stable. 

Now if any one wants to break in a young horse 
well, that is the way. 

My master often drove me in double harness with 
my mother, because she was steady and could teach 


154 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 



Black Beauty 
























































































BLACK BEAUTY 


155 


me how to go better than a strange horse. She told 
me the better I behaved the better I should be 
treated, and that it was always wisest to do my best 
to please my master. “But,” said she, “there are a 
great many kinds of men: there are good thoughtful 
men like our master, that any horse would be proud 
to serve; and there are bad, cruel men, who never 
ought to have a horse or a dog to call their own. 
Besides, there are a great many foolish men, vain, 
ignorant, and careless, who never trouble themselves 
to think; these spoil more horses than all, just for 
the want of sense; they don't mean it, but they do it 
for all that. I hope that you will fall into good hands; 
but a horse never knows who may buy him or who 
may drive him; it is all a chance for us; but still I 
say, do your best wherever it is, and keep up your 
good name.” 

In a short time Black Beauty was sold to Squire 
Gordon. In his stable he became acquainted with a 
pony named Merrylegs and an ill-tempered horse 
named Ginger. In the next chapter Ginger tells 
Black Beauty why she became so ill-tempered. 

II. Ginger 

One day when Ginger and I were standing alone 
in the shade, we had a great deal of talk; she wanted 
to know all about my bringing-up and breaking-in, 
and I told her. 

“Well,” said she, “if I had had your bringing-up , 
I might have had as good a temper as you , but now I 
don't believe I ever shall.” 

“Why not?” I said. 

“Because it has all been so different with me,” 
she replied. “I never had any one , horse or man , 
that was kind to me , or that I cared to please; for in the 


156 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


first place I was taken from my mother as soon as I 
was weaned, and put with a lot of other young colts; 
none of them cared for me, and I cared for none of 
them. There was no kind master like yours to look 
after me, and talk to me, and bring me nice things 
to eat. The man that had the care of us never gave me 
a kind word in my life . I do not mean that he ill- 
used me, but he did not care for us one bit further 
than to see that we had plenty to eat, and shelter 
in the winter. A footpath ran through our field, and 
very often the great boys passing through would fling 
stones to make us gallop. I was never hit, but one 
fine young colt was badly cut in the face, and I 
should think it would be a scar for life. We did not 
care for them, but of course it made us more wild, 
and we settled it in our minds that boys were our 
enemies. We had very good fun in the free meadows, 
galloping up and down and chasing each other round 
and round the field, then standing still under the 
shade of the trees. But when it came to breaking-in, 
that was a bad time for me; several men came to 
catch me, and when at last they closed me in at one 
corner of the field, one caught me by the forelock, 
another caught me by the nose and held it so tight 
I could hardly draw my breath; then another took 
my under-jaw in his hard hand and wrenched my 
mouth open, and so by force they got on the halter 
and the bar into my mouth; then one dragged me 
along by the halter, another flogging behind, and 
this was the first experience I had of men’s kindness; 
it was all force. They did not give me a chance to 
know what they wanted. I was high-bred and had 
a great deal of spirit, and was very wild, no doubt, 
and gave them, I dare say, plenty of trouble; but 
then it was dreadful to be shut up in a stall day after 


BLACK BEAUTY 


*57 


day instead of having my liberty, and I fretted and 
pined and wanted to get loose. You know yourself 
it's bad enough when you have a kind master and 
plenty of coaxing, but there was nothing of that sort 
for me. 

“There was one—the old master, Mr. Ryder— 
who, I think, could soon have brought me round, 
and could have done anything with me; but he had 
given up all the hard part of the trade to his son and 
to another experienced man, and he only came at 
times to oversee. His son was a strong, tall, bold 
man; they called him Samson, and he used to boast 
that he had never found a horse that could throw 
him. There was no gentleness in him, as there was 
in his father, but only hardness—a hard voice, a 
hard eye, a hard hand; and I felt from the first that 
what he wanted was to wear all the spirit out of me, 
and just make me into a quiet, humble, obedient 
piece of horse-flesh. ‘Horse-flesh!' Yes, that is all 
he thought about"; and Ginger stamped her foot as 
if the very thought of him made her angry. Then 
she went on: 

“If I did not do exactly what he wanted, he would 
get put out, and make me run round with that 
long rein in the training-field till he had tired me out. 
I think he drank a good deal, and I am quite sure that 
the oftener he drank the worse it was for me. One 
day he had worked me hard in every way he could, 
and when I lay down I was tired, and miserable, and 
angry; it all seemed so hard. The next morning he 
came for me early, and ran me round again for a long 
time. I had scarcely had an hour's rest, when he 
came again for me with a saddle and bridle and a 
new kind of bit. I could, never quite tell how it 
came about; he had only just mounted me on the 


i5« 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


training-ground, when something I did put him out 
of temper, and he chucked me hard with the rein. 
The new bit was very painful, and I reared up sud¬ 
denly, which angered him still more, and he began to 
flog me. I felt my whole spirit set against him, and I 
began to kick, and plunge, and rear as I had never 
done before, and we had a regular fight; for a long 
time he stuck to the saddle and punished me cruelly 
with his whip and spurs, but my blood was thor¬ 
oughly up, and I cared for nothing he could do if 
only I could get him off. At last, after a terrible 
struggle, I threw him off backward. I heard him 
fall heavily on the turf, and without looking behind 
me, I galloped off to the other end of the field; there 
I turned round and saw my persecutor slowly rising 
from the ground and going into the stable. I 
stood under an oak tree and watched, but no one 
came to catch me. The time went on, and the sun 
was very hot; the flies swarmed round me and settled 
on my bleeding flanks where the spurs had dug in. 
I felt hungry, for I had not eaten since the early 
morning, but there was not enough grass in that 
meadow for a goose to live on. I wanted to lie down 
and rest, but with the saddle strapped tightly on, 
there was no comfort, and there was not a drop of 
water to drink. The afternoon wore on, and the sun 
got low. I saw the other colts led in, and I knew they 
were having a good feed. 

“At last, just as the sun went down, I saw the old 
master come out with a sieve in his hand. He was a 
very fine old gentlemen, with quite white hair, but 
his voice was what I should know him by amongst 
a thousand. It was not high, or yet low, but full, 
and clear, and kind, and when he gave orders it was 
so steady and decisive that everyone knew, both 


BLACK BEAUTY 


L 59 


horses and men, that he expected to be obeyed. He 
came quietly along, now and then shaking the oats 
about that he had in the sieve, and speaking cheer¬ 
fully and gently to me: 'Come along, lassie; come 
along, lassie; come along, come along.' I stood still 
and let him come up; he held the oats to me, and I 
began to eat without fear; his voice took all my fear 
away. He stood by, patting and stroking me whilst 
I was eating, and, seeing the clots of blood on my 
side, he seemed very vexed. 'Poor lassie! it was a bad 
business, a bad business!' Then he quietly took the 
rein and led me to the stable; just at the door stood 
Samson. I laid my ears back and snapped at him. 
'Stand back,' said the master, 'and keep out of her 
way; you've done a bad day's work for this filly.' 
He growled out something about a vicious brute. 
'Hark ye,' said the father, 'a bad-tempered man will 
never make a good-tempered horse. You've not 
learned your trade yet, Samson.' Then he led me 
into my box, took off the saddle and bridle with his 
own hands, and tied me up; then he called for a pail 
of warm water and a sponge, took off his coat, and 
while the stable-man held the pail, he sponged my 
sides a good while, so tenderly that I was sure he 
knew how sore and bruised they were. 'Whoa! 
my pretty one,' he said; 'stand still, stand still.' 
His very voice did me good , and the bathing was very 
comfortable. The skin was so broken at the corners 
of my mouth that I could not eat the hay, the stalks 
hurt me. He looked closely at it, shook his head, 
and told the man to fetch a good bran mash and put 
some meal into it. How good that mash was! and so 
soft and healing to my mouth. He stood by all the 
time that I was eating, stroking me and talking to 


160 COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 

the man. 'If a high-mettled creature like this/ said 
he, 'can’t be broken in by fair means, she will never 
be good for anything.’ 

"After that he often came to see rne, and when 
my mouth was healed, the other breaker, Job they 
called him, went on training me; he was steady and 
thoughtful, and I soon learned what he wanted.” 

The next time that Ginger and I were together in 
the paddock, she told me about her first place. 

"After my breaking-in,” she said, "I was bought by 
a dealer to match another chestnut horse. For some 
weeks he drove us together, and then we were sold 
to a fashionable gentleman, and were sent up to 
London. I had been driven with a check-rein by the 
dealer, and I hated it worse than anything else; 
but in this place we were reined far tighter, the coach¬ 
man and his master thinking we looked more stylish 
so. We were often driven about in the park and other 
fashionable places. You who never had a check-rein 
on don’t know what it is, but I can tell you it is 
dreadful. 

"I like to toss my head about, and hold it as 
high as any horse; but fancy now yourself, if you 
tossed your head up high, and were obliged to hold 
it there , and that for hours together , not able to move it 
at all , except with a jerk still higher , your neck aching 
till you did not know how to bear it . Besides that, to 
have two bits instead of one; and mine was a sharp 
one; it hurt my tongue and my jaw, and the blood 
from my tongue colored the froth that kept flying 
from my lips, as I chafed and fretted at the bits and 
rein. It was worst when we had to stand by the hour 
waiting for our mistress at some grand party or enter- 


BLACK BEAUTY 


161 


tainment; and if I fretted or stamped with im¬ 
patience, the whip was laid on. It was enough to 
drive one mad.” 

“Did not your master take any thought for you?” 
I said. 

“No,” said she; “he only cared to have a^stylish 
turnout, as they called it; I think that he knew very 
little about horses; he left that to his coachman, 
who told him I had an irritable temper; that I had 
not been well broken to the check-rein, but I should 
soon get used to it; but he was not the man to do it, for 
when I was in the stable, miserable and angry, in¬ 
stead of being soothed and quieted by kindness, I 
got only a surly word or a blow. If he had been civil, 
I would have tried to bear it. I was willing to work, 
and ready to work hard, too; but to be tormented 
for nothing but their fancies angered me. What 
right had they to make me suffer like that? Besides 
the soreness in my mouth, and the pain in my neck, 
it always made my windpipe jeel bad , and I know 
spoiled my breathing. I grew more and more restless 
and irritable—I could not help it; and I began to snap 
and kick when any one came to harness me; for this 
the groom beat me, and one day, as they had just 
buckled us into the carriage, and were straining my 
head up with that rein, I began to plunge and kick 
with all my might. I soon broke a lot of harness, and 
kicked myself clear; so that was an end of that place. 

“After this, I was sent to Tattersall’s to be sold; 
of course I could not be warranted free from vice, 
so nothing was said about that. My handsome 
appearance and good paces soon brought a gentleman 
to bid for me, and I was bought by another dealer; 
he tried me in all kinds of ways and with different 


162 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


bits, and he soon found out what I could not bear. 
At last he drove me quite without a check-rein, and 
then sold me as a perfectly quiet horse to a gentleman 
in the country; he was a good master, and I was 
getting on very well, but his old groom left him and 
a new one came. This man was as hard-tempered 
and hard-handed as Samson; he always spoke in a 
rough , impatient voice , and if I did not move in the 
stall the moment he wanted me, he would hit me 
above the hocks with his stable broom or the fork, 
whichever he might have in his hand. Everything 
he did was rough, and I began to hate him; he wanted 
to make me afraid of him, but I was too high-mettled 
for that, and one day, when he had aggravated me 
more than usual, I bit him, which of course put him 
in a great rage, and he began to hit me about the 
head with a riding-whip. After that, he never dared 
to come into my stall again; either my heels or my 
teeth were ready for him and he knew it. I was 
quite quiet with my master, but of course he listened 
£o what the man said, and so I was sold again. 

“The same dealer heard of me, and said he thought 
he knew one place where I should do well. * 'Twas a 
pity/ he said, ‘that such a fine horse should go to 
the bad, for want of a real good chance'; and the end 
of it was that I came here not long before you did; 
but I had then made up my mind that men were 
my natural enemies, and that I must defend myself. 
Of course it is very different here, but who knows how 
long it will last? I wish I could think about things 
as you do; but I can't, after all I have gone through." 

“Well," I said, “I think it would be a real shame if 
you were to bite or kick John or James." 

“I don't mean to," she said, “while they are good 
to me. I did bite James once pretty sharp, but 


BLACK BEAUTY 


163 

John said, Try her with kindness/ and instead of 
punishing me as I expected, James came to me with 
his arm bound up, and brought me a bran mash and 
stroked me; and I have never snapped at him since; 
and I won’t, either.” 

I was sorry for Ginger, but of course I knew very 
little then, and I thought most likely she made the 
worst of it; however, I found that, as the weeks went 
on, she grew much more gentle and cheerful, and had 
lost the watchful, defiant look that she used to turn 
on any strange person that came near her; and one 
day James said, “I do believe that mare is getting 
fond of me; she quite whinnied after me this morning 
when I had been rubbing her forehead.” 

“Aye, aye, Jim, ’tis ‘the Birtwick balls/ ” said 
John; “she’ll be as good as Black Beauty by and by; 
kindness is all the medicine she wants, poor thing!” 
Master noticed the change, too, and one day when he 
got out of the carriage and came to speak to us, as he 
often did, he stroked her beautiful neck. “Well, my 
pretty one, well; how do things go with you now? 
you are a good bit happier than when you came to us, 
I think.” 

She put her nose up to him in a friendly, trustful 
way, while he rubbed it gently. 

“We shall make a cure of her, John,” he said. 

“Yes, sir, she’s wonderfully improved; she’s not 
the same creature that she was; it’s 'the Birtwick 
balls ,’ sir,” said John, laughing. 

This was a little joke of John’s; he used to say that 
a regular course of “the Birtwick horse-balls ” would 
cure almost any vicious horse; these balls, he said, 
were made up of patience and gentleness, firmness 
and petting, one pound of each to be mixed up with a 
pint of common-sense and given to the horse every day . 


164 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


While Black Beauty was still at Squire Gordon’s, the squire 
took a trip to a distant city and Black Beauty and Ginger 
were put in a stable for the night. During the night the barn 
caught fire. The description of the fire is given in the next 
chapter. 


III. The Fire 

Later on in the evening a traveler’s horse was 
brought in by the second hostler, and while he was 
cleaning him, a young man with a pipe in his mouth 
lounged into the stable to gossip. 

“I say, Towler,” said the hostler, “just run up the 
ladder into the loft and put some hay down into 
this horses’ rack, will you? only lay down your pipe” 

“All right,” said the other, and went up through 
the trap-door; and I heard him step across the floor 
overhead and put down the hay. James came in to 
look at us the last thing, and then the door was 
locked. 

I cannot say how long I had slept, nor what time 
in the night it was, but I woke up very uncomfort¬ 
able, though I hardly knew why. I got up; the air 
seemed all thick and choking. I heard Ginger 
coughing, and one of the other horses seemed very 
restless; it was quite dark, and I could see nothing, 
but the stable seemed full of smoke, and I hardly 
knew how to breathe. 

The trap-door had been left open, and I thought 
that was the place it came through. I listened, and 
heard a soft, rushing sort of noise, and a low crack¬ 
ling and snapping. I did not know what it was, but 
there was something in the sound so strange that it 
made me tremble all over. The other horses were 
now all awake; some were pulling at their halters, 
others were stamping. 


BLACK BEAUTY 


165 


At last I heard steps outside, and the hostler who 
had put up the traveler's horse burst into the stable 
with a lantern, and began to untie the horses, and 
try to lead them out; but he seemed in such a hurry 
and so frightened himself that he frightened me still 
more. The first horse would not go with him; he 
tried the second and the third, and they too would not 
stir. He came to me next, and tried to drag me out 
of the stall by force; of course that was no use. He 
tried us all by turns, and then left the stable. 

No doubt we were very foolish, but danger seemed 
to be all round, and there was nobody we knew to 
trust in, and all was strange and uncertain. The 
fresh air that had come in through the open door 
made it easier to breathe, but the rushing sound 
overhead grew louder, and as I looked upward, 
through the bars of my empty rack, I saw a red light 
flickering on the wall. Then I heard a cry of “Fire!" 
outside, and the old hostler quietly and quickly 
came in; he got one horse out and went to another, 
but the flames were playing around the trap-door, 
and the roaring overhead was dreadful. 

The next thing I heard was James’s voice, quiet and 
cheery, as it always was. 

“Come, my beauties, it is time for us to be off; 
so wake up and come along." I stood nearest the 
door, so he came to me first, patting me as he came 
in. 

“Come, Beauty, on with your bridle, my boy; 
we will soon be out of this smother." It was on in no 
time; then he took the scarf off his neck and tied it 
lightly over my eyes, and, patting and coaxing, he 
led me out of the stable. Safe in the yard, he slipped 
the scarf off my eyes, and shouted, “Here, somebody! 
take this horse while I go back for the other." 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


166 

A tall, broad man stepped forward and took me, 
and James darted back into the stable. I set up a 
shrill whinny as I saw him go. Ginger told me, 
afterward, that whinny was the best thing I could 
have done for her, for had she not heard me outside, 
she would never have had the courage to come out. 

There was much confusion in the yard; the horses 
being got out of other stables, and the carriages and 
gigs being pulled out of houses and sheds, lest the 
flames should spread further. On the other side the 
yard, windows were thrown up, and people were 
shouting all sorts of things; but I kept my eye fixed 
on the stable door, where the smoke poured out 
thicker than ever, and I could see flashes of red light; 
presently I heard above all the stir and din a loud, 
clear voice, which I knew was master's: 

“James Howard! James Howard! Are you 
there?" There was no answer, but I heard a crash 
of something falling in the stable, and the next 
moment I gave a loud, joyful neigh, for I saw James 
coming through the smoke leading Ginger with him; 
she was coughing violently, and he was not able to 
speak. 

“My brave lad!" said master, laying his hand 
on his shoulder, “are you hurt?" 

James shook his head, for he could not yet speak. 

“Aye," said the big man who held me; “he is a 
brave lad, and no mistake." 

“And now," said master, “when you have got your 
breath, James, we'll get out of this place as quickly 
as we can," and we were moving toward the entry, 
when from the Market Place there came a sound of 
galloping feet and loud rumbling wheels. 

“'Tis the fire engine! the fire engine!" shouted two 


BLACK BEAUTY 


167 

or three voices; “stand back, make way!” and, clat¬ 
tering and thundering over the stones, two horses 
clashed into the yard with the heavy engine behind 
them. The firemen leaped to the ground; there was 
no need to ask where the fire was—it was rolling up 
in a great blaze from the roof. 

We got out as fast as we could into the broad, quiet 
Market Place; the stars were shining, and except the 
noise behind us, all was still. Master led the way 
to a large hotel on the other side, and as soon as the 
hostler came, he said, “James, I must now hasten to 
your mistress; I trust the horses entirely to you; 
order whatever you think is needed,” and with that 
he was gone. The master did not run, but I never 
saw mortal man walk so fast as he did that night. 

There was a dreadful sound before we got into our 
stalls; the shrieks of those poor horses that were left 
burning to death in the stable—it was very terrible! 
and made both Ginger and me feel very bad. We, 
however, were taken in and well done by. 

The next morning the master came to see how we 
were, and to speak to James. I did not hear much, 
for the hostler was rubbing me down, but I could see 
that James looked very happy, and I thought the 
master was proud of him. Our mistress had been so 
much alarmed in the night that the journey was put 
off till the afternoon, so James had the morning on 
hand, and went first to the inn to see about our har¬ 
ness and the carriage, and then to hear more about 
the fire. 

When he came back, we heard him tell the hostler 
about it. At first no one could guess how the fire 
had been caused, but at last a man said he saw 
Dick Towler go into the stable with a pipe in his mouth , 
and when he came out he had none, and went to the 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


168 

store for another. Then the under hostler said he 
had asked Dick to go up the ladder to put down some 
hay, but told him to lay down his pipe first. Dick 
denied taking his pipe with him, but no one believed 
him. I remember our John Manly’s rule, never to 
allow a pipe in the stable , and thought that it ought 
to be the rule everywhere. 

James said the roof and the floor had all fallen in, 
and that only the black walls were standing; the 
two poor horses that could not be got out were buried 
under the burnt rafters and tiles. 

—-Anna Sewell 

MAKING GOOD SENTENCES 

The groups of words below make good sentences. Rearrange 
the words in each group to make good sentences. Write your 
name on the first line of your paper and your grade on the second 
line. The other io lines are for your sentences. Your teacher 
will time you. Raise your hand as a signal that you have 
finished: 

1. Good cats are black luck. 

2. Have fingers five hands? 

3. Month is February a short. 

4. Wheat is farmers by grown. 

5. River is Delaware one the Washington crossed the. 

6. United States Coolidge president is of the. 

7. City big a Chicago is. 

8. Days longer Summer are days winter than. 

9. Birds in fly air the. 

10. U. S. 48 has states the. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT 169 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT 

This poem reminds us that it is difficult to get an entire 
view of a situation and that our opinions and conclusions are 
apt to be one-sided and partial. It shows us that we had better 
not be too sure that we know all about any one thing. 

It was six men of Indostan, 

To learning much inclined, 

Who went to see the elephant 
(Though all of them were blind). 

That each by observation 
Might satisfy his mind. 

The first approached the elephant, 

And happening to fall 

Against his broad and sturdy side, 

At once began to bawl: 

“God bless me! but the elephant 
Is very like a wall!” 

The second, feeling of the tusk, 

Cried, “Ho! what have we here 

So very round and smooth and sharp? 
To me ’tis mighty clear 

This wonder of an elephant 
Is very like a spear!” 

The third approached the animal, 

And happening to take . 

The squirming trunk within his hands, 
Thus boldly up and spake: 

“I see,” quoth he, “the elephant 
Is very like a snake.” 

The fourth reached out an eager hand. 
And felt about the knee. 


iyo COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 

“What most this wondrous beast is like 
Is mighty plain,” quoth he; 

“'Tis clear enough the elephant 
Is very like a tree!” 

The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear. 
Said: “E'en the blindest man 
Can tell what this resembles most; 

Deny the fact who can, 

This marvel of an elephant 
Is very like a fan!” 

The sixth no sooner had begun 
About the beast to grope, 

Than, seizing on the swinging tail, 

That fell within his scope, 

“I see,” quoth he, “the elephant 
Is very like a rope!” 

And so these men of Indostan 
Disputed loud and long, 

Each in his own opinion 
Exceeding stiff and strong, 

Though each was partly in the right, 

And all were in the wrong! 

—John G. Saxe 

DILAPIDATED 

Bank Cashier (to flashily dressed colored woman): 
You wish to borrow an additional sum? I'm afraid 
you are spending too much money on your wardrobe. 

Colored Woman: Lawdy, suh, Ah wish yo' could 
see it! It ain't got but one door an' that's off the 
hinges. 


—Life 


MAXIMS OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 171 

SAYINGS OF POOR RICHARD 

Benjamin Franklin, one of our greatest Americans, wrote 
a book called Poor Richard's Almanac , in which he included many 
wise sayings that have helped hundreds of people. He has a 
way of telling us the truth that makes us remember it. The 
following maxims, or truths, you can learn in a few minutes, 
and you will enjoy recalling them all your life. 

1. “A word to the wise is sufficient.” 

2. “God helps them that help themselves.” 

3. “Lost time is never found again; and what we 
call time enough, always proves little enough.” 

4. “He that riseth late must trot all day, and 
shall scarce overtake his business at night; while 
laziness travels so slowly, that Poverty soon over¬ 
takes him.” 

5. “Drive thy business, and let not that drive 
thee.” 

6. “Industry need not wish; and he that lives 
upon hopes, will die fasting.” 

7. “Diligence is the mother of good luck.” 

8. “Then plow deep while sluggards sleep, 

And you shall have corn to sell and keep.” 

9. “Never leave that till tomorrow, which you can 
do today.” 

10. “The cat in gloves catches no mice.” 

11. “Constant dropping wears away stones. By 
diligence and patience the mouse ate in two the 
cable.” 

12. “Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to 
gain leisure; and since thou art not sure of a moment, 
throw not away an hour.” 

13. “Fly pleasures, and they will follow you.” 

14. “Three removes are as bad as a fire.” 


172 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


15. “Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee.' 

16. “If you would have your business done, go; if 
not, send.” 

17. “He that by the plow would thrive, 

Himself must either hold or drive.” 

18. “Not to oversee workmen, is to leave them 
your purse open.” 

19. “Beware of little expenses: a small leak will 
sink a great ship.” 

20. “Buy what thou hast no need of, and ere long 
thou shalt sell thy necessaries.” 

21. “Silks and satins, scarlets and velvets, put out 
the kitchen fire.” 

22. “Always taking out of the meal-tub, and never 
putting in, soon comes to the bottom.” 

23. “When the well is dry, they know the worth of 
water.” 

24. “If you would know the value of money, go and 
try to borrow some; for he that goes a-borrowing, 
goes a-sorrowing.” 

25. “It is easier to suppress the first desire, than to 
satisfy all that follow it.” 

26. “Vessels large may venture more, 

But little boats should keep near shore.” 

27. “It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright.” 

Read these maxims over again and select the one that you 
think is the best. On a small slip of paper put the number of 
your favorite maxim. The teacher will then have these slips 
collected and find out which maxim has received the largest 
number of votes. This maxim may then be considered as a 
class motto. 

Commit to memory the last five of these maxims. 


THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN 


*73 


THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN 

The Weser is one of the chief rivers of Germany, a country 
in Europe. The story of the Pied Piper is one of the most 
famous of the old German stories. 

I 

Hamelin Town's in Brunswick, 

By famous Hanover city; 

The river Weser, deep and wide; 

Washes its wall on the southern side; 

A pleasanter spot you never spied; 

But, when begins my ditty, 

Almost five hundred years ago, 

To see the townsfolk suffer so 
From vermin, was a pity. 

II 

Rats! 

They fought the dogs and killed the cats, 

And bit the babies in the cradles, 

And ate the cheeses out of the vats, 

And licked the soup from the cooks' own ladles; 
Split open the kegs of salted sprats, 

Made nests inside men’s Sunday hats, 

And even spoiled the women's chats 
By drowning their speaking 
With shrieking and squeaking 
In fifty different sharps and flats. 

III 

At last the people in a body 

To the Town Hall came flocking: 

“ Tis clear," cried they, “our Mayor's a noddy; 

And as for our Corporation—-shocking 
To think we buy gowns lined with ermine 


!74 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


For dolts that can't or won't determine 
What's best to rid us of our vermin! 

You hope, because you're old and obese, 

To find in the furry civic robe ease? 

Rouse up, sirs! Give your brains a racking. 
To find the remedy we're lacking, 

Or, sure as fate, we'll send you packing!" 

At this the Mayor and Corporation 
Quaked with a mighty consternation. 

IV 

An hour they sat in council; 

At length the Mayor broke silence; 

"For a guilder I'd my ermine gown sell, 

I wish I were a mile hence! 

It's easy to bid one rack one's brain— 

I'm sure my poor head aches again, 

I've scratched it so, and all in vain. 

Oh for a trap, a trap, a trap!" 

Just as he said this, what should hap 
At the chamber-door but a gentle tap? 

"Bless us," cried the Mayor, "what’s that?" 
(With the Corporation as he sat, 

Looking little though wondrous fat; 

Nor brighter was his eye, nor moister 
Than a too-long-opened oyster, 

Save when at noon his paunch grew mutinous 
For a plate of turtle green and glutinous) 
"Only a scraping of shoes on the mat? 
Anything like the sound of a rat 
Makes my heart go pit-a-pat!" 

V 

"Come in!"—the Mayor cried, looking bigger: 
And in did come the strangest figure! 


THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN 


*75 


His queer long coat from heel to head 
Was half of yellow and half of red, 

And he himself was tall and thin, 

With sharp blue eyes, each like a pin. 

And light loose hair, yet swarthy skin. 

No tuft on cheek nor beard on chin, 

But lips where smiles went out and in; 

There was no guessing his kith and kin: 

And nobody could enough admire 
The tall man and his quaint attire. 

Quoth one: “It’s as my great-grandsire, 

Starting up at the Trump of Doom's tone, 

Had walked this way from his painted tombstone!" 

VI 

He advanced to the council-table: 

And, “Please your honours," said he, “I'm able. 

By means of a secret charm, to draw 
All creatures living beneath the sun, 

That creep or swim or fly or run. 

After me so as you ever saw! 

And I chiefly use my charm 
On creatures that do people harm, 

The mole and toad and newt and viper; 

And people call me the Pied Piper." 

(And here they noticed round his neck 
A scarf of red and yellow stripe, 

To match with his coat of the self-same check; 

And at the scarf's end hung a pipe; 

And his fingers, they noticed, were ever straying 
As if impatient to be playing 
Upon this pipe, as low it dangled 
Over his vesture so old-fangled.) 

“Yet," said he, “poor piper as I am, 

In Tartary I freed the Cham, 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


17 6 

Last June, from his huge swarms of gnats; 

I eased in Asia the Nizam 

Of a monstrous brood of vampire-bats: 

And as for what your brain bewilders, 

If I can rid your town of rats 

Will you give me a thousand guilders?” 

“One? fifty thousand!”—was the exclamation 
Of the astonished Mayor and Corporation. 

VII 

Into the street the Piper stept, 

Smiling first a little smile, 

As if he knew what magic slept 
In his quiet pipe the while; 

Then, like a musical adept, 

To blow the pipe his lips he wrinkled, 

And green and blue his sharp eyes twinkled. 
Like a candle-flame where salt is sprinkled; 

And ere three shrill notes the pipe uttered, 

You heard as if an army muttered; 

And the muttering grew to a grumbling; 

And the grumbling grew to a mighty rumbling; 
And out of the houses the rats came tumbling. 
Great rats, small rats, lean rats, brawny rats, 
Brown rats, black rats, grey rats, tawny rats. 
Grave old plodders, gay young friskers. 

Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins, 

Cocking tails and pricking whiskers, 

Families by tens and dozens, 

Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives— 

Followed the Piper for their lives. 

From street to street he piped advancing, 

And step for step they followed dancing, 

Until they came to the river Weser, 

Wherein all plunged and perished! 


THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN 


—Save one who, stout as Julius Caesar, 

Swam across and lived to carry 
(As he, the manuscript he cherished) 

To Rat-land home his commentary: 

Which was, “At the first shrill notes of the pipe, 

I heard the sound as of scraping tripe, 

And putting apples, wondrous ripe, 

Into a cider-press’s gripe: 

And a moving away of pickle-tub-boards, 

And a leaving ajar of conserve-cupboards, 

And a drawing the corks of train-oil-flasks, 

And a breaking the hoops of butter-casks: 

And it seemed as if a voice 

(Sweeter far than by harp or by psaltery 

Is breathed) called out, 'Oh rats, rejoice! 

The world is grown to one vast dry-saltery! 

So munch on, crunch on, take your luncheon 
Breakfast, supper, dinner, luncheon!’ 

And just as a bulky sugar puncheon. 

All ready staved, like a great sun shone 
Glorious scarce an inch before me, 

Just as methought it said, “Come, bore me! 

—I found the Weser rolling o’er me.” 

VIII 

You should have heard the Hamelin people 
Ringing the bells till they rocked the steeple. 
“Go,” cried the Mayor, “and get long poles, 

Poke out the nests and block up the holes! 
Consult with carpenters and builders, 

And leave in our town not even a trace 
Of the rats!”—when, suddenly, up the face 
Of the Piper perked in the market-place, 

With a “First, if you please, my thousand guilders 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


178 


IX 

A thousand guilders! The Mayor looked blue; 

So did the Corporation too. 

For council dinners made rare havoc 
With Claret, Moselle, Vin-de-Grave, Hock; 

And half the money would replenish 
Their cellar’s biggest butt with Rhenish. 

To pay this sum to a wandering fellow 
With a gypsy coat of red and yellow! 

“Beside,” quoth the Mayor with a knowing wink 
“Our business was done at the river’s brink; 

We saw with our eyes the vermin sink, 

And what’s dead can’t come to life, I think. 

So, friend, we’re not the folks to shrink 

From the duty of giving you something for drink, 

And a matter of money to put in your poke; 

But as for the guilders, what we spoke 
Of them, as you very well know, was in joke. 
Beside, our losses have made us thrifty. 

A thousand guilders! Come, take fifty!” 

X 

The Piper’s face fell, and he cried, 

“No trifling! I can’t wait, beside! 

I’ve promised to visit by dinnertime 

Bagdad, and accept the prime 

Of the Head-Cook’s pottage, all he’s rich in. 

For having left, in the Caliph’s kitchen. 

Of a nest of scorpions no survivor: 

With him I proved no bargain-driver, 

With you, don’t think I’ll bate a stiver! 

And folks who put me in a passion 
May find me pipe after another fashion.” 


THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN 


l 19 


XI 

“How?” cried the Mayor, “d’ye think I brook 
Being worse treated than a Cook? 

Insulted by a lazy ribald 

With idle pipe and vesture piebald? 

You threaten us, fellow? Do your worst. 

Blow your pipe there till you burst!” 

XII 

Once more he stept into the street, 

And to his lips again 

Laid his long pipe of smooth straight cane; 

And ere he blew three notes (such sweet 
Soft notes as yet musician’s cunning 
Never gave the enraptured air) 

There was a rustling that seemed like a bustling 
Of merry crowds justling at pitching and hustling; 
Small feet were pattering, wooden shoes clattering, 
Little hands clapping and little tongues chattering, 
And, like fowls in a farm-yard when barley is scat¬ 
tering. 

Out came the children running. 

All the little boys and girls, 

With rosy cheeks and flaxen curls, 

And sparkling eyes and teeth like pearls, 

Tripping and skipping, ran merrily after 

The wonderful music with shouting and laughter. 

XIII 

The Mayor was dumb, and the Council stood 
As if they were changed into blocks of wood, 

Unable to move a step, or cry 
To the children merrily skipping by, 

—Could only follow with the eye 
That joyous crowd at the Piper’s back. 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


i3o 





























































































































THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN 181 

But how the Mayor was on the rack, 

And the wretched Council's bosoms beat. 

As the Piper turned from the High Street 
To where the Weser rolled its waters 
Right in the way of their sons and daughters! 
However, he turned from South to West, 

And to Koppelberg Hill his steps addressed, 

And after him the children pressed; 

Great was the joy in every breast. 

“He never can cross that mighty top! 

He's forced to let the piping drop, 

And we shall see our children stop!" 

When, lo, as they reached the mountain-side, 

A wondrous portal opened wide, 

As if a cavern was suddenly hollowed; 

And the Piper advanced and the children followed. 
And when all were in to the very last, 

The door in the mountain-side shut fast. 

Did I say all? No! One was lame, 

And could not dance the whole of the way; 

And in after years, if you would blame 
His sadness, he was used to say,— 

“It's dull in our town since my playmates left! 

I can't forget that I'm bereft 
Of all the pleasant sights they see, 

Which the Piper also promised me. 

For he led us, he said, to a joyous land, 

Joining the town and just at hand, 

Where waters gushed and fruit-trees grew 
And flowers put forth a fairer hue, 

And everything was strange and new; 

The sparrows were brighter than peacocks here. 

And their dogs outran our fallow deer, 

And honey-bees had lost their stings, 

And horses were born with eagle's wings; 


182 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


And just as I became assured 
My lame foot would be speedily cured, 

The music stopped and I stood still, 

And found myself outside the hill, 

Left alone against my will, 

To go now limping as before, 

And never hear of that country more!" 

XIV 

Alas, alas for Hamelin! 

There came into many a burgher's pate 
A text which says that heaven's gate 
Opes to the rich at as easy rate 
As the needle's eye takes a camel in! 

The Mayor sent East, West, North, and South, 
To offer the Piper, by word of mouth, 

Wherever it was men's lot to find him, 

Silver and gold to his heart's content, 

If he’d only return the way he went, 

And bring the children behind him. 

But when they saw 'twas a lost endeavour, 

And Piper and dancers were gone forever, 

They made a decree that lawyers never 
Should think their records dated duly 
If, after the day of the month and year, 

These words did not as well appear, 

“And so long after what happened here 
On the Twenty-second of July, 

Thirteen hundred and seventy-six:" 

And the better in memory to fix 
The place of the children's last retreat, 

They called it, the Pied Piper's Street— 

Where any one playing on pipe or tabor 
Was sure for the future to lose his labour. 

Nor suffered they hostelry or tavern 


THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN 183 

To shock with mirth a street so solemn; 

But opposite the place of the cavern 
They wrote the story on a column, 

And on the great church-window painted 
The same, to make the world acquainted 
How their children were stolen away, 

And there it stands to this very day. 

And I must not omit to say 

That in Transylvania there's a tribe 

Of alien people who ascribe 

The outlandish ways and dress 

On which their neighbors lay such stress, 

To their fathers and mothers having risen 

Out of some subterraneous prison 

Into which they were trepanned 

Long time ago in a mighty band 

Out of Hamelin town in Brunswick land, 

But how or why, they don't understand. 

XV 

So, Willy, let me and you be wipers 
Of scores out with all men—especially pipers! 

And, whether they pipe us free from rats or from 
mice, 

If we’ve promised them aught, let us keep our 
promise! 

—Robert Browning 
Questions 

1. On which side of the Weser river is the town of 
Hamelin ? 

2. What were some of the damages caused by the rats? 

3. The Corporation of Hamelin corresponds to the 
city council of our American cities. How were the men of the 
Corporation dressed when they went to a meeting in the town 
hall? 


184 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


4. Describe the appearance of the Pied Piper. 

5. How much did the mayor and corporation agree to 
give the Pied Piper to rid their town of rats? 

6. How did the Piper get the rats to follow him? What 
happened to the rats? 

7. What did the Mayor do when the Piper came for his 
money? 

8. What did the Pied Piper do to get revenge against the 
Mayor and the Corporation ? 

9. What happened to the children who followed the Piper? 

10. What did the Mayor do to get back the children of 
Hamelin ? 

11. What is the lesson that we get from this story? 


THE HORSE TRADE 

When Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer in Illinois, 
he and a certain Judge were joking with each other 
about trading horses. They finally agreed that the 
next morning at nine o'clock they would trade horses, 
the horses to be unseen up to that hour. If either one 
backed out, he was to pay a forfeit of $25. 

At the appointed hour the Judge came up, leading 
the sorriest-looking horse ever seen in that part of 
the country. In a few minutes Lincoln was seen 
approaching with a carpenter's wooden saw-horse 
across his shoulder. The crowd shouted and laughed 
when Lincoln set down his saw-horse, looked at the 
Judge's animal and said: “Well, Judge, this is the 
first time I ever got the worst of it in a horse trade." 


PLUTO STEALS PROSERPINA 


185 


SPEED TEST IV 

When your teacher gives you the signal, begin reading the 
following selection. At the end of three minutes the teacher 
will give you a signal “Check.” When this signal is given, 
put a light line under the last word that you were reading 
at that moment. Then continue reading the remainder of the 
story. Be ready at the close of your reading to tell the story 
to the class. 

Count the number of words that you read before the signal 
“Check” was given. Divide that number by three. This will 
give you your rate in words per minute. Compare this rate 
with the standard given in the Introduction (see page vii). 
Are you above or below the standard for your grade? 

PLUTO STEALS PROSERPINA 

Mother Ceres was exceedingly fond of her daughter 
Proserpina, and seldom let her go alone into the 
fields. But, just at the time when my story begins, 
the good lady was very busy, because she had the 
care of the wheat* and the Indian corn, and the rye 
and barley, and, in short, of the crops of every kind 
all over the earth; and as the season had thus far 
been uncommonly backward, it was necessary to 
make the harvest ripen more speedily than usual. 
So she put on her turban, made of poppies (a kind 
of flower she was always noted for wearing), and 
got into her car drawn by a pair of winged dragons, 
and was just ready to set off. 

“Dear mother,” said Proserpina, “I shall be very 
lonely while you are away. May I not run down to 
the shore, and ask some of the sea nymphs to come 
up out of the waves and play with me?” 

“Yes, child,” answered Mother Ceres. “The 
sea nymphs are good creatures, and will never lead 
you into any harm. But you must take care not to 
stray away from them, nor go wandering about the 


186 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


fields by yourself. Young girls, without their mothers 
to take care of them, are very apt to get into mis¬ 
chief.” 

The child promised to be as prudent as if she were 
a grown-up woman; and, by the time the winged 
dragons had whirled the car out of sight, she was al¬ 
ready on the shore, calling to the sea nymphs to come 
and play with her. They knew Proserpina’s voice, 
and were not long in showing their glistening faces 
and sea-green hair above the water, at the bottom of 
which was their home. They brought along with 
them a great many beautiful shells; and, sitting down 
on the moist sand where the surf wave broke over 
them, they busied themselves in making a necklace, 
which they hung round Proserpina’s neck. By way 
of showing her gratitude, the child besought them to 
go with her a little way into the field, so that they 
might gather abundance of flowers, with which she 
would make each of her kind playmates a wreath. 

“Oh, no, dear Proserpina,” cried the sea nymphs; 
“we dare not go with you upon the dry land. We 
are apt to grow faint, unless at every breath we can 
snuff up the salt breeze of the ocean. And don’t 
you see how careful we are to let the surf wave 
break over us every moment or two, so as to keep 
ourselves comfortably moist? If it were not for that, 
we should soon look like bunches of uprooted sea¬ 
weed dried in the sun.” 

“It is a great pity,” said Proserpina. “But do 
you wait for me here, and I will run and gather my 
apron full of flowers, and be back again before the 
surf wave has broken ten times over you. I long to 
make you some wreaths that shall be as lovely as 
this necklace of many-colored shells.” 

“We will wait, then,” answered the sea nymphs. 


PLUTO STEALS PROSERPINA 


187 


“But while you are gone, we may as well lie down on 
a bank of soft sponge under the water. The air to¬ 
day is a little too dry for our comfort. But we will 
pop up our heads every few minutes to see if you are 
coming.” 

The young Proserpina ran quickly to a spot where, 
only the day before, she had seen a great many flowers. 
These, however, were now a little past their bloom; 
and, wishing to give her friends the freshest and 
loveliest blossoms, she strayed farther into the fields, 
and found some that made her scream with delight. 
Never had she met with such exquisite flowers before 
■—violets, so large and fragrant—roses, with so rich 
and delicate a blush—such superb hyacinths and 
such aromatic pinks—and many others, some of 
which seemed to be of new shapes and colors. Two 
or three times, moreover, she could not help thinking 
that a tuft of most splendid flowers had suddenly 
sprouted out of the earth before her very eyes, as if 
on purpose to tempt her a few steps farther. Pro¬ 
serpina’s apron was soon filled and brimming over 
with delightful blossoms. She was on the point of 
turning back in order to rejoin the sea nymphs, and 
sit with them on the moist sands, all twining wreaths 
together. But, a little farther on, what should she 
behold? It was a large shrub, completely covered 
with the most magnificent flowers in the world. 

“The darlings!” cried Proserpina; and then she 
thought to herself, “I was looking at that spot only 
a moment ago. How strange it is that I did not see 
the flowers!” 

The nearer she approached the shrub, the more 
attractive it looked, until she came quite close to it; 
and then, although its beauty was richer than words 
can tell, she hardly knew whether to like it or not. 


188 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


It bore above a hundred flowers of the most brilliant 
hues, and each different from the others, but all hav¬ 
ing a kind of resemblance among themselves, which 
showed them to be sister blossoms. But there was a 
deep, glossy luster on the leaves of the shrub, and 
on the petals of the flowers, that made Proserpina 
doubt whether they might not be poisonous. To 
tell you the truth, foolish as it may seem, she was half 
inclined to turn around and run away. 

“What a silly child I am!” thought she, taking 
courage. “It is really the most beautiful shrub that 
ever sprang out of the earth. I will pull it up by the 
roots, and carry it home and plant it in my mother’s 
garden.” 

Holding up her apronful of flowers with her left 
hand, Proserpina seized the large shrub with the 
other, and pulled, and pulled, but was hardly able 
to loosen the soil about its roots. What a deep-rooted 
plant it was! Again the girl pulled with all her might, 
and observed that the earth began to stir and crack 
to some distance around the stem. She gave another 
pull, but relaxed her hold, fancying that there was 
a rumbling sound right beneath her feet. Did the 
roots extend down into some enchanted cavern? 
Then, laughing at herself for so childish a notion, 
she made another effort; up came the shrub, and 
Proserpina staggered back, holding the stem trium¬ 
phantly in her hand, and gazing at the deep hole which 
its roots had left in the soil. 

Much to her astonishment, this hole kept spreading 
wider and wider, and growing deeper and deeper, 
until it really seemed to have no bottom; and all 
the while, there came a rumbling noise out of its 
depths, louder and louder, and nearer and nearer, 
and sounding like the tramp of horses’ hoofs and the 


PLUTO STEALS PROSERPINA 


rattling of wheels. Too much frightened to run 
away, she stood straining her eyes into this wonderful 
cavity, and soon saw a team of four sable horses 
snorting smoke out of their nostrils, and tearing their 
way out of the earth with a splendid golden chariot 
whirling at their heels. They leaped out of the bot¬ 
tomless hole, chariot and all; and there they were, 
tossing their black manes, flourishing their black 
tails, and curvetting with every one of their hoofs 
off the ground at once, close by the spot where Pro¬ 
serpina stood. In the chariot sat the figure of a man, 
richly dressed, with a crown on his head, all flaming 
with diamonds. He was of a noble aspect, and rather 
handsome, but looked sullen and discontented; and 
he kept rubbing his eyes and shading them with his 
hand, as if he did not live enough in the sunshine 
to be very fond of its light. 

As soon as this personage saw the affrighted Pro¬ 
serpina, he beckoned her to come a little nearer. 

“Do not be afraid,” said he, with as cheerful a 
smile as he knew how to put on. “Come! Will not 
you like to ride a little way with me in my beautiful 
chariot?” 

But Proserpina was so alarmed that she wished 
for nothing but to get out of his reach. And no 
wonder. The stranger did not look remarkably good- 
natured, in spite of his smile; and as for his voice, its 
tones were deep and stern, and sounded as much 
like the rumbling of an earthquake under the ground 
as anything else. As is always the case with children 
in trouble, Proserpina’s first thought was to call for 
her mother. 

“Mother, Mother Ceres!” cried she, all in a 
tremble. “Come quickly and save me.” 

But her voice was too faint for her mother to 


190 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


hear. Indeed, it is most probable that Ceres was 
then a thousand miles off, making the corn grow in 
some far distant country. Nor could it have availed 
her poor daughter, even had she been within hearing; 
for no sooner did Proserpina begin to cry out, than 
the stranger leaped to the ground, caught the 
child in his arms, and again mounted the chariot, 
shook the reins, and shouted to the four black 
horses to set off. They immediately broke into 
so swift a gallop that it seemed rather like flying 
through the air than running along the earth. In 
a moment, Proserpina lost sight of the pleasant 
vale of Enna, in which she had always dwelt. Another 
instant, and even the summit of Mount Aetna had 
become so blue in the distance that she could scarcely 
distinguish it from the smoke that gushed out of 
its crater. But still the poor child screamed, and 
scattered her apronful of flowers along the way, 
and left a long cry trailing behind the chariot; 
and many mothers to whose ears it came ran quickly 
to see if any mischief had befallen their children. 
But Mother Ceres was a great way off, and could 
not hear the cry. 

As they rode on, the stranger did his best to 
soothe her. 

“Why should you be so frightened, my pretty 
child ? ,J said he, trying to soften his rough voice. 
“I promise not to do you harm. What! You have 
been gathering flowers? Wait till we come to my 
palace, and I will give you a garden full of prettier 
flowers than those, all made of pearls, and diamonds, 
and rubies. Can you guess who I am ? They call 
my name Pluto, and I am the king of diamonds and 
all other precious stones. Every atom of the gold 
and silver that lies under the earth belongs to me, 


PLUTO STEALS PROSERPINA 


191 

to say nothing of the copper and iron, and of the 
coal mines, which supply me with abundance of 
fuel. Do you see this splendid crown upon my 
head? You may have it for a plaything. Oh, we 
shall be very good friends, and you will find me 
more agreeable than you expect, when once we 
get out of this troublesome sunshine.” 

“Let me go home!” cried Proserpina. “Let me 
go home!” 

“My home is better than your mother’s,” answered 
King Pluto. “It is a palace, all made of gold, with 
crystal windows; and, because there is little or no 
sunshine thereabouts, the apartments are illuminated 
with diamond lamps. You never saw anything half 
so magnificent as my throne. If you like, you may 
sit down on it, and be my little queen, and I will sit 
on the footstool.” 

“I don’t care for golden palaces and thrones,” 
sobbed Proserpina. “Oh, my mother, my mother! 
Carry me back to my mother!” 

But King Pluto, as he called himself, only shouted 
to his steeds to go faster. 

“Pray do not be foolish, Proserpina,” said he in 
rather a sullen tone. “I offer you my palace and 
my crown, and all the riches that are under the 
earth; and you treat me as if I were doing you an 
injury. The one thing which my palace needs is a 
merry little maid to run up stairs and down and 
cheer up the rooms with her smile. And this is 
what you must do for King Pluto.” 

“Never!” answered Proserpina, looking as miser¬ 
able as she could. “I shall never smile again till 
you set me down at my mother’s door.” 

But she might just as well have talked to the 


192 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


wind that whistled past them; for Pluto urged on 
his horses, and went faster than ever. Proserpina 
continued to cry out, and screamed so long and so 
loudly that her poor little voice was almost screamed 
away; and when it was nothing but a whisper, she 
happened to cast her eyes over a great, broad field 
of waving grain—and whom do you think she saw? 
Who but Mother Ceres, making the corn grow, and 
too busy to notice the golden chariot as it went 
rattling along. The child mustered all her strength, 
and gave one more scream, but was out of sight 
before Ceres had time to turn her head. 

From “The Pomegranate Seeds ” 

—Nathaniel Hawthorne 







THE WOODEN HORSE OF TROY 


*93 


THE WOODEN HORSE OF TROY 


When you have finished reading this story, you will be 
expected to make a report on it to the class. Copy the following 
‘ key words” on a slip of paper. These will help you to remem¬ 
ber the paragraphs in the story as you give your reproduction. 
You will find that this scheme of jotting down a key word or 


two for each paragraph will 
your lessons. 

1. Homer 

2. Iliad 

3. Paris and Helen 

4. Menelaus makes war 

5. Ulysses—horse 
‘6. Part of army sails 

7. Others construct horse 

8. Greeks go into horse 

9. Greeks break camp 


you a great deal in mastering 

10. Trojans find horse 

11. Laoco'n’s warning 

12. Sea serpents 

13. Drag horse into Troy 

14. Greeks from horse open 

gates 

15. Troy destroyed 

16. Helen forgiven 

17. Prophecy fulfilled 


Hundreds of years ago before people learned to 
print or even write books and stories, there were 
many people who learned the stories of their 
nation and recited them to groups of people. There 
were many interesting stories and myths told about 
the people of ancient Greece, who lived in the souths 
ern part of Europe. Finally the Greeks learned to 
write, and one of their great poets, Homer, gathered 
up the most interesting of the old Greek stories 
and put them into two books which he named the 
Iliad and the Odyssey . 

In the story of the Iliad , Homer tells about the 
war between the Greeks and the Trojans which 
finally resulted in the destruction of the city of 
Troy by the Greeks. 

Paris, the son of Priam, king of Troy, went on a 
visit to Greece and finally landed at Sparta. While 
visiting at the court of King Menelaus, he fell in 



194 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


love with Helen, the queen, who was said to have 
been the most beautiful woman in the world at that 
time. When the king of Sparta went on a voyage 
to the island of Crete, Paris persuaded Queen Helen 
to leave her husband and return with him to Troy. 

When King Menelaus returned from Crete, he 
was very angry at Paris for carrying off his wife. 
Menelaus called upon the Greek leaders to help him 
take Troy and regain their queen. The war raged 
for about ten years, but on account of the strong 
walls of Troy the Greeks could not take the city. 

Ulysses was one of the wisest of the Greek leaders * 
He finally thought of a scheme by which he thought 
that they could gain admission into the city without 
scaling the walls. He asked Sinon, one of his men, 
to design a large wooden horse which would be hollow 
so that a group of men could be hidden in it. 

A part of the great Greek army embarked on 
their ships and set sail as if they had given up hope 
of taking the city and were returning home. After 
they were out of sight of the city, they anchored 
their ships behind an island and waited until they 
could return and assist in the capture of Troy. 

The remainder of the army, which had been left 
on the field of battle, constructed the large wooden 
horse. They made it of boards which were so 
closely fitted together that no one could notice a 
hidden door which opened into the hollow interior. 

After dark one night Ulysses, King Menelaus, 
and a small band of some of the bravest of the 
Greek warriors went inside the wooden horse and 
the door was closed behind them. 

The next morning the remainder of the Greek 
army broke camp and pretended to start for home* 


THE WOODEN HORSE OF TROY 


*95 



Laoco^n 


















































196 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


The Trojans came out of their city with great 
rejoicing, thinking that the Greeks had given up 
hope and left. 

They were greatly astonished to find the great 
wooden horse which the Greeks had left on the 
plain before the city. No one seemed to know 
what it was for. Finally a Greek spy, who had 
remained behind purposely to be captured, told the 
Trojans that the Greeks had erected this horse in 
honor of the goddess Athene. They made it so 
large that they thought no one could move it. He 
also told the Trojans that it would bring victory to 
those who possessed it. The Trojans then decided 
that they would drag this immense horse into the 
city as a token of their victory over the Greeks. 

One of the Trojans, named Laocoon, who was a 
priest of the god Neptune (the god of the sea), 
advised them to have nothing to do with the horse 
because he suspected that it was a piece of Greek 
treachery. He was afraid that they would suffer a 
terrible calamity if they had anything to do with it. 

While he was talking, two large serpents came out 
of the sea, crawled straight through the Trojan 
army, and seized Laocoon and his two sons. They 
coiled themselves about the priest and his sons until 
they were crushed to death. Then they uncoiled 
themselves and disappeared again into the sea. 
This was taken as a sign that Laocoon had dis¬ 
pleased the gods by his warning against the wooden 
horse. 

The Trojans then dragged the immense wooden 
horse into the city with great rejoicing and closed 
the gates behind them. That night they all gathered 
together in a great feast to celebrate their victory 
over the Greeks. 


ULYSSES AND THE CYCLOPS 


*97 


So sure were they that the Greeks had gone home 
that they never posted guards that night on the 
walls of the city. About midnight Ulysses and the 
Greek warriors who were hidden in the wooden 
horse were released by the spy, who had stolen 
away from the feast. Then they opened up the 
great gates of the city and allowed the Greek army, 
which had returned under cover of darkness, to 
enter the city. 

The Trojans were completely surprised and were 
easily defeated. Only a few of them escaped from 
the hands of the victorious Greeks. The Greeks 
plundered the city of all its valuable treasures, carried 
off the women and children, and then burned the 
city to the ground. So complete was their destruction 
of the city and its people that Troy was never rebuilt. 

Queen Helen was among the captives. She said 
that she had been sorry many times for leaving 
Sparta to go with Paris. King Menelaus forgave the 
Queen for leaving him and took her home with him. 

Thus the prophecy of Laocoon was fulfilled. Troy 
had fallen and had been destroyed—all through the 
means of the wooden horse which had been devised 
by the crafty Ulysses. 

ULYSSES AND THE CYCLOPS 

Read this story through once to enjoy it. Next go over it 
again, jotting down “key words” as shown in the introduction 
to the preceding story. Then use these key words to give a 
complete account of the story. 

After the capture of the city of Troy by the 
Greeks, Ulysses and his warriors started for home. 
They were driven out of their course by a terrible 
storm, and had many wonderful adventures before 
they were able to find their way back home. 


198 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


One of the most interesting of these adventures 
is the story of Ulysses and the Cyclops. The Cyclops 
were a race of giants who lived in caves and tended 
herds of goats and sheep for their food. Polyphemus 
was one of the strongest of these giants. He was 
very peculiar in appearance because he had only 
one eye, which was placed in the middle of his 
forehead. 

On coming to the land of the Cyclops, Ulysses 
left most of the men in three of his boats and took 
twelve men with him in another boat. The other 
men were to hide the boats and wait for the return 
of his exploring party. He also took with him a 
skin full of a very strong wine which he thought might 
be of service in making an enemy drunk if the party 
were captured. 

They soon came to the cave of Polyphemus. 
The giant was off in the fields tending his flocks. 
In the cave were many vessels full of milk, and a 
row of baskets heaped high with cheeses. They 
also found several pens containing young lambs and 
kids which were not old enough to go with the herds 
to the pasture. 

Ulysses' mem wanted him to take some of the 
cheeses to the ship and then return and take some 
of the young lambs back with them. Ulysses did 
not follow their advice, however, for he wished to 
stay in the cave and meet the owner when he returned 
in the evening. 

While waiting for the return of Polyphemus, the 
men lit a fire and ate some of the cheeses, of which 
there was a plentiful supply. 

When the giant came home at supper time, he 
carried a big armful of well-dried wood for his 


ULYSSES AND THE CYCLOPS 


199 


fire. He threw down the wood with such a terrible 
crash that Ulysses and his men shrank back into 
a dark corner of the cave. 

Polyphemus next drove the goats and sheep into 
the cave and then closed the entrance to the cave 
by pulling an enormous rock across the opening. 
Then he milked his goats. Half of the milk he 
curdled for cheese. The other half he put into bowls 
for his supper. 

Then he lit a big fire which made the cave almost 
as light as day. Seeing Ulysses and his men hiding 
in the corner of the cave, he roared, “Who are you? 
Do you come here to rob me?” 

The men shook with fear at his tremendous 
size and powerful voice. Ulysses explained that 
they were Greek soldiers who had been driven 
out of their course when returning from the capture 
of Troy. He then advised Polyphemus to treat 
them in a hospitable manner because Jove, the 
father of their gods, would avenge any wrong done 
to them. 

Polyphemus became very angry. “We are not 
afraid of Jove or any of your other gods, because 
we consider ourselves stronger and much superior 
to them,” he said. “Where did you leave your 
ship?” 

Ulysses did not want the giant to know where he 
had left the ship for fear that he might destroy it, 
so he replied, “Neptune wrecked my bark by hurling 
it against the rocks on your island.” 

When Ulysses had finished speaking, Polyphemus 
sprang toward the men, seized two of them, and 
dashed out their brains on the ground. He then 


200 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


tore them to pieces and devoured them bones and 
all, together with the big bowls of milk which he had 
saved for his supper. 

After supper the giant lay down and went to sleep. 
Ulysses then thought that he would steal up and 
plunge his sword through the giant's heart as he 
slept. But he remembered the great rock which 
lay across the entrance to the cave. It was too large 
for him and all of his men to lift or roll away. Hence, 
if he killed the giant, he and all of his men would 
perish in the cave. 

In the morning the Cyclops milked his goats. 
Then he proceeded to devour two more of the men 
for his morning meal. Following his repast, he drove 
his flocks out of the cave and replaced the great 
rock across the entrance so that Ulysses and his 
men could not escape. 

After the Cyclops was gone, Ulysses took counsel 
with the remaining men to devise a plan by which 
they might escape before they were all devoured by 
the giant. They noticed a large pole of olive wood 
which had evidently been used by the giant for a 
walking stick. They cut off a piece of this pole about 
six feet long and sharpened one end very sharp. 
Ulysses then hardened the point of this pole by 
holding it in the fire. They hid this weapon so that 
the giant would not see it on his return that evening. 

In the evening Polyphemus returned with his flocks 
and went through the same chores as he had on the 
preceding evening. He then proceeded to devour 
two more of the unfortunate Greeks for his evening 
meal. 

Then Ulysses filled a large wooden cup with the 
strong wine which he had brought with him and 
offered it to the giant. “Take this, O Cyclops, 


ULYSSES AND THE CYCLOPS 


201 


so that you may know what fine liquor we brought 
in our ship. I brought this wine as an offering to 
you, hoping that you would pity us and send us 
home.” 

The giant took the cup and drank the wine. He 
liked it so well that he asked for a second and also 
a third cup. Then he began to he drunk and Ulysses 
said, “Cyclops, you have asked me my name. I will 
tell you provided you will in turn bestow some 
hospitable gift on me. No-man is my name.” 

The Cyclops answered savagely, “No-man shall 
be the last of all his band which I shall eat. Let 
that be my gift to him.” 

Then the giant lay down and immediately fell 
into a drunken sleep. Ulysses took the sharp stake 
and held it in the fire until it was ready to burn. 
Then, with the assistance of four of his companions, 
he plunged the glowing stick into the single eye of 
the Cyclops and turned it round and round as it 
hissed and sputtered in the giant’s eye. 

Polyphemus raised a fearful howl, plucked the 
stake from his eye, and flung it madly from him. 
Then he called to the neighboring Cyclops for help. 
They came running to the great rock that closed 
the entrance to the cave. 

“What hurts you, Polyphemus, that you cry 
so loud that you wake us from our slumbers at this 
time of the night.” 

Without opening the cave Polyphemus replied 
in a drunken stupor, “O friends, No-man is killing 
me. No-man is killing me by treachery.” 

His fellow Cyclops then replied, “If no man 
does you violence and you are quite alone, know that 


202 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


no one can escape the diseases that are sent by 
Jove. Make your prayer to Father Neptune, who 
is the king of our ocean.” 

Then, supposing that he had merely cried out in 
his sleep, they went home and left him in his pain. 
Ulysses laughed to see how cleverly he had deceived 
the Cyclops by calling himself No-man . 

The giant in his agony dashed around the cave 
trying to catch the men who had blinded him, but 
they were now able to keep out of his reach. 

In the morning Polyphemus pushed the rock 
back from the mouth of the cave and sat there 
with outstretched arms to seize any of his enemies 
who attempted to escape. 

Ulysses then thought of a bold plan for escaping 
from the cave. He bound three of the largest sheep 
together and tied one of his men underneath them. 
As the sheep passed out of the mouth of the cave, the 
giant felt along the backs of the sheep but did not 
think of feeling underneath them. After all his 
men had escaped in this way, Ulysses threw him¬ 
self underneath the largest sheep that was left and 
clung to his heavy wool as he passed out. 

When he was outside the cave, Ulysses then un¬ 
bound his men and they drove off some of the sheep 
to their ship, which was hidden near the cave. After 
they were all on the ship, Ulysses called back to 
the giant, “Ha! Cyclops! Those whom you devoured 
in your brutal fury were friends of one who was an 
expert in war. Your guilty deeds have returned 
on you. Thus have Jove and the other gods avenged 
them.” 

Polyphemus became wild with rage. He wrenched 
the summit off a near-by mountain peak and hurled 


ULYSSES AND THE CYCLOPS 


203 


the massive stone toward the spot where he had 
heard Ulysses speak. The great rock almost struck 
the ship, falling a few feet in front of it. The waves 
from the rock's fall swept the ship back toward the 
land, but Ulysses seized a long pole and prevented 
it from being washed upon the shore. The men then 
grasped their oars and pulled the ship out into the 
sea. 

After they had gone what they thought was a 
safe distance, Ulysses shouted back, “Cyclops, if 
any man asks you what caused your blindness, tell 
him that Ulysses put out your eye." 

The giant, still more ’enraged, seized another 
stone, larger than the first, and threw it at the moving 
ship. Fortunately it fell a few feet behind the ship 
and thus helped drive it away from the dangerous 
shore. 

After Ulysses and his companions reached the 
men whom they had left in the other ships, they 
landed on another part of the island and had a 
great feast of the sheep which tney had stolen from 
the flock of the giant. 

CAREFUL MAN 

A motorist meeting an old colored man trudging 
along the dusty road generously offered him a lift. 

“No, sah, thank you, sail!” said the old man. 
“Ah reckon mah ol' laigs will take me 'long fast 
enough.” 

“Aren't afraid, are you, uncle? Have you ever 
been in an automobile?” 

“Never but once, sah,” was the reply, “and den 
Ah didn't let all mah weight down.” 


204 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


THE DAYS OF KNIGHTHOOD 

Hundreds of years ago before gunpowder and guns 
were invented, men had to hunt and fight with 
spears, swords, and bows and arrows. 

If a man showed great bravery and also great 
skill in the use of these weapons, he was considered 
eligible for knighthood. In order to protect himself 
from the blows of an enemy, a knight wore a suit of 
armor. This suit of armor was made of steel plates 
joined together so that the knight could move 
his arms and legs. On his head he wore a steel 
helmet which had a visor or movable plate which 
could be pulled down over the face for protection 
while the knight was fighting. 

In order to prepare himself for becoming a knight, 
a boy had to go through a long course of training. At 
the age of seven he was put in the family of some 
knight where he served as page to the family of the 
knight. Here he learned the fine manners which 
were considered essential for knighthood. At the 
age of fourteen the page became a squire . The 
squire had charge of the knight’s horses and cared 
for his armor and weapons. The knight taught 
him how to defend himself in combats and took 
him with him on hisjourneys. After a squire reached 
the age of twenty-one he was considered eligible 
for knighthood. This distinction was usually con¬ 
ferred only after the squire had distinguished himself 
in a tournament or on the field of battle. 

On becoming a knight, the candidate had to take 
an oath in which he promised to live a pure life 
and think high thoughts; to love one maiden only 
and worship her with years of noble deeds; and to 


THE DAYS OF KNIGHTHOOD 


205 


protect all women who were in distress, and also 
those persons who were weak or old and needed 
help. 

After taking this oath, the knight who was con¬ 
ducting the ceremony struck the young squire 
across the shoulders with the flat side of his sword 
and said, “In the name of Saint George, I dub thee 
knight; be true and faithful.” The new knight then 
had the distinction of having the title Sir prefixed 
to his name. This was the badge of knighthood. 

A knight was supposed to take great pleasufe in 
fighting. When two strange knights met each other 
in the forest or on a road, they usually charged each 
other to see which was the stronger. These combats 
seldom resulted in either knight being killed on 
account of their protective armor, though they were 
frequently wounded. When a knight was knocked 
off his horse in a combat, his opponent was supposed 
to dismount to continue the fight or to wait until 
the fallen knight had remounted his horse. 

Tournaments were frequently held in which the 
knights contested to see who was the most skilful 
in the use of arms. In these tournaments two 
knights would take their stations at the opposite 
ends of a field and charge at each other. Each one 
would attempt to knock the other knight off his 
horse. 

A king or some other famous knight usually had 
a strong castle for protection in time of war and also 
to protect himself against roving bands of adven¬ 
turous knights. He usually gathered a group of 
other knights about him to help him defend his 
castle and go with him on his expeditions against 
his enemies. 

King Arthur, one of the famous kings of the early 


206 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 










































































































































































THE DAYS OF KNIGHTHOOD 


207 

days of England, gathered together in his castle 
at Camelot over one hundred fifty of the most 
famous knights of his kingdom, which at that time 
was called Logris . He had a large round table 
constructed so that there was no head or foot so 
that there would be no jealousy among the knights 
over their seats at the table. * On account of the 
shape of this table, his company of knights became 
known as the Knights of the Round Table. 

Many interesting stories have been written about 
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. 
One of the most famous of these is about Sir Galahad 
and his search for the Holy Grail. 

The Holy Grail means “holy cup.” It received 
this name because it was the cup from which Jesus 
is supposed to have drunk at the last supper which 
he ate with the twelve apostles. Joseph of Arimathea, 
in whose tomb Jesus was buried, is also supposed to 
have used this cup to catch the blood that ran 
from the side of Jesus when he was on the cross. 
This cup was supposed to have great healing power, 
and it was also considered to have the power of 
providing food in times of need. 

The Holy Grail was supposed to have been brought 
to England after the death of Jesus. Only those 
who were pure and perfect were supposed to be 
able to see this holy vessel. 

The story of Sir Galahad reads like a myth or 
fairy tale, but it contains wonderful lessons and 
proved a great inspiration to the people of olden 
times. In it is pictured the knight without sin and 
for that reason the knight who was unconquerable. 

Bring to class pictures of famous knights and tell some 
interesting incident which occurred in the life of each knight. 


208 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


SIR GALAHAD 

One day when King Arthur and his knights were 
gathered around the Round Table, a beautiful 
woman entered the dining hall on horsehack. She 
jumped off her horse, bowed low before the king, 
and asked, “Where is the knight, Sir Launcelot?” 
When the king pointed out the knight, she went to 
Sir Launcelot and asked him to follow her. He did 
not know why she had come for him, but, like a 
true knight, he had his horse saddled immediately 
and followed her. 

They rode for a considerable distance through the 
forest until they came to an abbey which was kept 
by nuns. The nuns came out to welcome Sir Laun¬ 
celot and showed him to a room in the abbey. Here 
he was very much surprised to find his two cousins 
Sir Bors and Shy Lionel, two other knights of the 
Round Table. While they were talking, twelve 
nuns entered the room, bringing with them a young 
squire by the name of Galahad. They said that they 
had reared the young man and that he was worthy 
in every way of becoming a knight. They had 
sent for Sir Launcelot so that they might request 
him to confer the order of knighthood on Galahad. 

The next day Sir Launcelot performed this cere¬ 
mony, saying, “God make him a good man, for 
of beauty faileth you not as any that liveth.” 

Then Sir Launcelot and his two cousins went 
back to the court of King Arthur. 

The next day, just as the king and his knights 
were ready for dinner, a squire came in and said 
to the king, “Sir, I bring you wonderful news.” 
“What news do you bring?” asked the king. The 
squire replied, “Sir, at the river below the castle 


SIR GALAHAD 


209 


there is a great stone sticking out of the water, and 
I saw a wonderful sword sticking in this stone. ,, 

So the king and his knights went down to see the 
stone. It appeared to be composed of red marble. 
On the handle of the sword were precious stones 
set in letters of gold. On the sword was this in¬ 
scription: (“Never shall man take me hence , hut only 
he by whose side I ought to hang , and he shall be the 
best knight in all the world.” 

When the king saw these words, he said to Sir 
Launcelot, “Fair sir, this sword ought to be yours, 
for I am sure that you are the best knight in the 
world.” Then Sir Launcelot replied, “Sir, it is 
not my sword; and furthermore I will not attempt 
to draw it, because he who attempts to take the 
sword and fails shall some time suffer misfortune 
at the hands of the sword.” Sir Launcelot knew 
that, while he could overcome all the knights of the 
court in battle, he had not lived a pure enough 
life to entitle him to this sword. 

Then the king asked two other knights, Sir 
Gawaine and Sir Percivale, to attempt to draw 
the sword, but, try as hard as they were able, they 
could not pull the sword out of the rock. 

The king and his knights then returned to the 
palace. Suddenly all the doors and windows were 
shut. At that moment an old man, clothed in white, 
entered the hall, bringing with him a young knight 
without sword or shield but with an empty scabbard 
hanging by his side. “Peace be with you, fair 
lords,” said the king. Then the old man said to 
King Arthur, “Sir, I bring here a young knight who 
is the descendant of a king and also of the lineage of 
Joseph of Arimathea. He will accomplish great 
marvels in this court and in strange realms.” The 


210 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


king replied, “Sir, you are right welcome, and the 
young knight with you.” 

The old man then led the young knight to a vacant 
seat beside Sir Launcelot. He lifted up the cloth 
which covered the seat and found these words: 
“This is the seat of Galahad, the high prince.” 
The young knight sat down in the seat, and the 
old man left the hall. 

After dinner was over, the king came to the seat, 
lifted up the cloth, and read the words inscribed on 
the seat. Then he said to Galahad, “Sir, you are 
welcome, for you are the one who shall persuade 
many good knights to go in search of the Holy 
Grail and you shall achieve what many other knights 
shall not be able to do.” Then the king took Sir 
Galahad to the river to show him the wonderful 
stone that held the sword. 

“Sir,” said the king to Sir Galahad, “here is a 
great marvel and right good knights have attempted 
to draw the sword and have failed.” 

“Sir,” replied Sir Galahad, “that is no marvel; 
for this adventure is not theirs, but mine. Knowing 
that I would find this sword, I brought none with 
me, for here by my side hangs my empty scabbard.” 

Then Sir Galahad laid his hand on the sword, 
lightly drew it out of the stone, and put it in the 
scabbard which he was wearing. 

At that moment a lady on a white horse came 
riding down the bank of the river toward them. 
She saluted the king and queen and asked if Sir 
Launcelot was there. Sir Launcelot said, “I am 
here, fair lady.” Then the lady replied, “Sir, you 
were the best knight in the world, but if one should 
say so now, he should be a liar, for there is now one 
better than you, for it was proved by the adventures 


SIR GALAHAD 


211 


of the sword which you would not touch.” Sir 
Launcelot said, “I know well that I was never the 
best knight in the world.” “Yes, you were,” replied 
the lady, “and you are yet of any sinful man of the 
world.” With this the lady rode away, and the whole 
company returned to the palace. 

The king proposed that the knights hold a tourna¬ 
ment on the meadow near the palace to celebrate 
the strange events which had happened. Sir Galahad 
entered the tournament and showed his prowess by 
coming off victorious over all the knights whom he 
met. 

Then the king and the knights went in to the 
Round Table for supper. As they sat at the table, a 
great clap of thunder was heard. At the same time 
a great sunbeam seven times as bright as daylight 
lighted up the whole room. The knights sat speech¬ 
less. At that moment the Holy Grail entered into 
the hall. It was covered with a white cloth so 
that none might see it, nor him who bore it. The 
hall was immediately filled with pleasant odors, and 
every knight had such meats and drinks as he 
best loved to eat. Then the Holy Grail departed 
as suddenly as it came. 

The king gave thanks to God for seeing this 
marvelous event. Sir Gawaine then said, “Now 
we have been served to-day with meat and drink by 
the Holy Grail, but it was so preciously covered 
that we could not see it. Wherefore I will make 
this vow—that to-morrow I will begin my search 
for the Holy Grail. I shall search for it and never 
return to this court until I have seen it more openly 
than it has been seen here.” Then most of the 
other knights rose up and made such vows as Sir 
Gawaine had made. 


2i2 COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 

King Arthur knew that most of his knights were 
not pure enough to be rewarded with the sight of 
the Holy Grail. He was very sad at the parting 
because he knew that their going would break up 
the fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table. 
Never again would all of his famous company meet 
again around the Round Table, because many of 
the knights would be killed in their search for the 
Holy Grail. 

After attending a religious service in the chapel 
of the palace, about one hundred fifty of the knights 
bade the king farewell and started on their search 
for the Holy Grail, each one going the way that he 
liked best. 

Sir Galahad rode four days without a shield, but 
fortunately encountered no enemy. In the evening 
of the fourth day he came to a white abbey where 
he was received with great reverence. He was led 
to a chamber and assisted in taking off his armor. 
At this abbey he met two other knights of the Round 
Table—King Bagdemagus and Sir Uwaine. He 
asked them why they had come to the White Abbey. 
They told him that there was a wonderful white 
shield in the place which was meant for the worthiest 
knight in the world, but which also meant mis¬ 
fortune to him who tried to wear it and was not 
worthy of it. King Bagdemagus said that he would 
be the first to try to wear the shield. 

The next day he put on the shield and took a 
young squire with him. After he had ridden a 
mile or two, he encountered a knight in white 
armor. The white knight struck King Bagdemagus 
from his horse and took the white shield from 
him, saying, “Knight, you have done yourself 
great folly, for this shield ought not to be borne but 


SIR GALAHAD 


213 



































































214 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


by him that shall have no peer that liveth.” Then 
he went to the squire who had come with King 
Bagdemagus and said, “Bear this shield to the good 
knight Sir Galahad, that you left in the abbey.” 
Then the squire took King Bagdemagus back to the 
abbey and dressed his wounds. 

He took the shield to Sir Galahad and said, “Sir 
Galahad, the knight that wounded King Bagdemagus 
sends you his greeting and said that you should bear 
this shield, with which you shall see great adven¬ 
tures.” Sir Galahad took the shield and mounted 
his horse to depart. Sir Uwaine asked if he might 
go with him in his search for the Holy Grail. Sir 
Galahad replied that he must go alone except for 
the squire who was to accompany him. 

After the two left the abbey, his squire, Melias, 
requested that he be made a knight. They returned 
to the abbey, and the next day Sir Galahad made 
him a knight. Then Sir Melias requested that he 
be permitted to continue the journey with Sir 
Galahad. 

The two knights rode off on their journey. They 
soon came to a cross which pointed to two roads 
with these words on it: “Now knights which go 
on adventures see here two ways: the way to the 
right will defend a knight, for he shall not go out of 
the way again if he is a good man and a worthy 
knight; and if you go on the left hand you shall not 
easily win fame, for you shall be soon tried in this 
way.” 

Sir Melias decided to part from Sir Galahad and 
take the road to the left. He rode for two days into 
an old forest. Then he came to a meadow in which 
there was a beautiful hut of boughs. In the hut there 
was a crown of gold on a chair. In front of the chair 


SIR GALAHAD 


21 5 


there was a cloth on which delicious meats were set. 
Sir Melias, not being hungry, did not care to eat, but 
he took the crown and rode away with it. Soon a 
knight came riding after him and said, “Knight, 
set down that crown which is not yours and prepare 
to defend yourself.” Then they charged at each 
other on their horses, and the other knight struck 
Sir Melias down and rode off with the crown. 

Sir Galahad rode by the place in a short time and 
found Sir Melias wounded. “Ah, Melias,” he said y 
“it would have been better for you not to have ridden 
this way.” 

When Sir Melias heard him speak, he said, “Sir, 
for God’s love let me not die in this forest, but 
take me to an abbey near here.” 

“It shall be done,” replied Sir Galahad, “but 
where is he that wounded you?” 

Then Sir Galahad heard a voice through the leaves: 
“Knight, keep thee from me.” “Ah, Sir,” said 
Melias, “beware, for that is he that hath slain me.” 
Sir Galahad answered, “Sir knight, come on your 
peril.” 

The two rode at each other as fast as their horses 
could run, and Galahad struck the other knight 
such a blow that his spear went through his armor 
and pierced his shoulder. When the other knight 
fell off his horse, wounded, he broke Sir Galahad’s 
spear. At that same moment a second knight came 
out of the leaves and struck Sir Galahad with his 
spear before he could turn. Sir Galahad drew his 
sword and severely wounded the second knight, 
who turned and fled. Sir Galahad then returned to 
Sir Melias and removed him to an abbey, where a 
monk dressed his wounds. 


216 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


The monk said, “Sir, for his sin he was thus 
wounded. The road on the right hand was the 
highway of our Lord Jesus Christ and the way of 
a good true person. The other way was the way 
of sinners and misbelievers. When the devil saw 
the pride and presumption of Sir Melias to go in 
search of the Holy Grail, he caused him to be over¬ 
thrown, for it may not be achieved but by living 
a pure life. When he took the crown of gold in 
theft, that was no knightly deed. Sir Galahad, the 
holy knight, which fought with the two knights 
(which signify the two deadly sins which were in 
Melias), is without deadly sin and therefore they 
could not conquer him.” 

After staying with Sir Melias for three days 
until he was resting easy with his wounds, Sir 
Galahad rode forward on his journey. Finally he 
came to a mountain where he found a deserted 
church. He knelt before the altar and prayed to 
God for counsel. As he prayed, he heard a voice 
that said, “Go now, adventurous knight, to the 
Castle of Maidens and there do away with the 
wicked customs.” 

When Sir Galahad heard this, he mounted his 
horse. He had not ridden more than half a mile 
when he saw in a valley before him a strong castle 
surrounded with deep ditches and with a river 
running by it. There he met an old man, and Sir 
Galahad asked him the name of the castle. “Fair 
sir,” he said, “It is the Castle of Maidens.” The old 
man advised Sir Galahad not to go to the castle. 
He rode on until he met a squire who had come 
from the castle. The squire said, “Knight, the 
knights of the castle defy you and forbid you to 
come farther until they find what you want.” 


SIR GALAHAD 


217 

Fair sir, replied Sir Galahad, “I come to destroy 
the wicked customs of this castle.” The squire 
rode back to the castle to report what Sir Galahad 
had said. 

Soon afterward seven knights, known as the seven 
deadly sins, rode out of the castle. When they 
saw Sir Galahad, they cried, “Knight, go away, for 
we assure you nothing but death.” Then Galahad 
charged the seven brothers and struck the fore¬ 
most to the earth. The others struck his shield and 
broke their spears. Then Sir Galahad drew out his 
sword and attacked them so fiercely that they turned 
and fled to the castle. They went through one gate 
and out through another gate on the other side 
of the castle. 

Sir Galahad on coming to the gate of the castle 
met an old man in religious clothing. “Here are the 
keys to this gate,” said the old man. “You are 
very welcome, for we have waited long for you to 
deliver us from the evil customs of the castle.” 
Sir Galahad opened the gate and entered the castle. 
There was a great crowd of people in the street to 
welcome him. They asked him to call together 
the knights that held the lands of the castle and 
make them swear to use the old customs of the 
castle. This he did, and then they freed the king's 
daughter and the other maidens who had been kept 
in prison by the seven wicked knights. 

In the morning word was brought by a messenger 
that the evil knights, who had fled from the castle 
on the preceding day, had been killed by three of 
the knights of the Round Table who were on their 
way to the castle. 

When Sir Galahad left the Castle of the Maidens, 
he rode until he came to a great forest. There he 
































































































































SIR GALAHAD 


219 


met Sir Launcelot and Sir Percivale, but they 
did not recognize him in his new armor. Sir Laun- 
celot charged upon Sir Galahad and broke his spear 
upon him. Sir Galahad struck Sir Launcelot such 
a blow that he knocked down both horse and rider. 
Then he drew his sword and attacked Sir Percivale. 
He hit him such a terrible blow that Sir Percival 
was knocked out of his saddle. After Sir Galahad 
had ridden on a short distance, they recognized him. 
Getting on their horses, they tried to overtake him, 
but he rode so fast that he was soon out of sight. 

Sir Galahad had many more adventures in this 
forest, in all of which he was victorious. At last 
he came to a hermitage where he decided to stay 
all night. When he was asleep, a gentlewoman 
knocked at the door and asked for Sir Galahad. 
When Sir Galahad asked her what she wanted she 
replied, “Sir, arm yourself, mount your horse, and 
follow me, for I will show you the highest adventures 
that any knight ever saw.” So Galahad armed him¬ 
self and followed the gentlewoman. 

The gentlewoman took Galahad to a ship where 
he met Sir Bors and Sir Percivale. The two knights 
received Sir Galahad with great joy. Then the 
knights told one another their hard adventures and 
their great temptations. 

They sailed off in the ship and finally came to 
two great rocks. Here they found another ship. 
On entering the strange ship they found no one. On 
the end of the ship was written the inscription: 
“Thou man, which shall enter this ship, beware thou 
be in steadfast belief, for I am Faith, and therefore 
beware how thou enterest, for if thou fail, I shall 
not help thee.” 

Sir Galahad, the gentlewoman, Sir Bors, and Sir 


220 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


Percivale then entered the ship. When they were 
in it they marveled, for it was wonderfully fair and 
rich. In the middle of the ship there was a beautiful 
bed and over this bed was a cover of silk. At the 
foot of the bed there was a wonderful sword. It 
was drawn out of the sheath about half a foot or 
more. No man was to grip the sword unless he 
should surpass all other knights. 

Sir Percivale first attempted to draw the sword, 
but he could not grip it. Sir Bors next attempted 
to draw the sword, but he also failed. Then Sir 
Galahad said, “By my faith, I would draw this 
sword out of the sheath, but the punishment is so 
great that I shall not set my hand to it.” Then the 
gentlewoman told him that he was the only one who 
could draw the sword and not suffer misfortune. 
This gentlewoman, who was the sister of Sir Percivale, 
had made a sheath for the sword. She now gave 
this sheath to Sir Galahad, and he put the sword 
in the new sheath. 

The wind drove the ship to a castle on a cliff 
on the coast of Scotland. A squire came out to 
meet them and asked who they were. They replied 
that they were knights from the court of King 
Arthur. “Is that so?” he said. “Now by my head 
you are poorly dressed.” With that remark he 
went back to the castle on the cliff. A gentle¬ 
woman then came to them and inquired from whence 
they came. “Fair lords,” said she, “for God’s love 
turn again, if you may, for here you will come to 
your death.” “No,” they said, “we will not turn 
again, for God shall help us, for we are in His service.” 

As they stood talking several knights, well armed, 
came out of the castle and told them to yield or die. 
They refused and the knights charged at them. Sir 


SIR GALAHAD 


221 


Percivale struck the foremost to the earth, took 
his horse, and mounted it. Sir Galahad and Sir 
Bors did likewise with two of the other knights. 
Then the three charged the other knights so fiercely 
that they drove them back into their castle. The 
three knights then captured the castle and set the 
rightful owner, who had been in prison, free. 

After they left the castle, they encountered a 
knight who demanded that Percivale's sister give 
them a silver dish full of her blood to be taken 
from her right arm. He was joined by ten other 
knights from his castle. Sir Galahad, Sir Bors, and 
Sir Percivale set upon these knights and killed 
all of them. Then sixty other knights came from the 
castle and they fought until night. One of the knights 
from the castle invited them to come in for the night 
and promised them that they would not suffer harm. 

In this castle they found a gentlewoman who had 
been sick for many years. An old man had told her 
that she would be cured if she was bathed in the 
blood of a maiden who was a king's daughter. Per¬ 
civale's sister, who was a king's daughter, then 
offered to give her blood to heal the sick woman. 
But she gave so much of her blood that she died. 
Before her death she asked that she be placed on a 
barge and that it be allowed to sail off into the sea. 
She further told them that this barge with her body 
would be at the holy city where they would see 
the Holy Grail and asked that her body be buried 
there. They did as she had directed and watched the 
barge until it was out of sight. 

The three knights after many strange adventures 
at last reached the castle of Carbonek, where they 
found King Pelles. His son brought them a broken 
sword. Bors tried to put the pieces together so 


222 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


that the sword would be whole, but he could not 
make them weld together. Then he took it to 
Percivale, but he had no more power than Sir 
Bors. Percivale then took the pieces to Galahad. 
He took the pieces and set them together so that 
it seemed that the sword had just been made. 

While the knights were at this castle they were 
joined by other knights. During a religious service 
which they attended, a silver table was brought in 
and on it stood the Holy Grail, which was covered 
by a red cloth. They were fed from the Holy 
Grail, but were not allowed to see it uncovered. 
Sir Galahad was commanded to take this holy 
vessel out of that country to the city of Sarras be¬ 
cause the people of Logris had sinned and were 
not worthy of it. There they were to see the Holy 
Grail uncovered. 

So the three knights rode for three days until 
they came to a river where they found a ship waiting 
for them. On this ship they found the silver table 
on which was the Holy Grail covered with the red 
cloth. At last they came to the holy city of Sarras, 
and as they made ready to land they saw the barge 
in which lay Percivale’s sister who had died at the 
castle. 

The three knights first took the table of silver 
out of the ship and carried it toward the city. Sir 
Percivale and Sir Bors carried one end, and Sir 
Galahad followed carrying the other end. At the 
gate of the city they saw an old man who was 
crippled. Sir Galahad called to him and asked him 
to help them carry the heavy table. The old man 
replied that he had walked on crutches for ten years 
and that he could not help much. “Care not,” 
said Galahad, “rise up and show your good will.” 


SIR GALAHAD 


223 

The man tried to rise and found himself as whole 
as he ever was. Then he ran to the table and helped 
carry it to the palace. The people were very much 
excited when they learned that the cripple had been 
cured by the marvelous knights who had entered 
the city. 

After the table was placed in the chapel of the 
castle, the knights went to the ship and brought 
Percivale’s sister and buried her in the castle as 
she had requested. 

When the king of the city saw the knights, he 
asked them from whence they came and what thing 
they had brought on the silver table. They told 
him the truth of the Holy Grail and the power that 
God had set there. The king, who was a tyrant and 
an unbeliever, put them in prison in a deep hole. 
But as soon as they were there the Lord sent them 
the Holy Grail, by which they were nourished 
while they were in prison. 

At the end of the year the king became sick and 
felt that he was going to die. So he sent for the 
three knights and asked forgiveness, which they 
readily granted. 

When the king died, all the city was dismayed. 
Who was to be their king? As they were gathered 
together to choose a king, there came a voice among 
them. It said for them to choose the youngest 
knight of them there to be their king. So Galahad, 
the youngest knight, was chosen king with the 
approval of all in the holy city. 

Galahad then made a chest of gold and precious 
stones to cover the Holy Grail. Every day the 
three knights knelt before it to pray. 

One day as they went into the chapel a man in 


224 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


the robes of a bishop stood before the silver table. 
He told them that they were now to see the Holy 
Grail uncovered. Sir Galahad trembled as he saw 
the sacred vessel and gave thanks to the Lord that 
at last he had seen that for which he had so long 
sought. He said he was then ready to die because 
the life of the soul was so much finer than life in 
the body. He went to Percivale and Bors and kissed 
them and told them to carry the news back to 
Arthur's court. Then he knelt in prayer and his 
soul departed. Thus passed away Sir Galahad, the 
purest and best knight who ever lived. 

Suddenly a hand came down and carried the Holy 
Grail up to heaven. Since then no one on the earth 
has ever seen it. 

Percivale and Bors grieved greatly over the death 
of Sir Galahad. As soon as he was buried, they went 
to a hermitage, where Percivale became a monk. 
After fourteen months Percivale died and Bors 
buried him in the palace with his sister and Sir 
Galahad. 

Then Sir Bors returned to Logris. King Arthur 
and his court greeted him with much joy. He 
told them of his wonderful adventures at the end of 
which he and his two companions had at last been 
successful in seeing the Holy Grail face to face; 
and how it had been carried up to heaven. Of the 
three who had finally been successful in seeing the 
Holy Grail, face to face, only he had lived to tell the 
story. 

—Adapted from Mallory's “Morte D'Arthur' 
Review Questions 

i. What weapons were used in the olden time before 
gunpowder and guns were invented? 


SIR GALAHAD 


225 

2. What did a youth have to promise to do in taking 
the oath of knighthood? 

3 What was the Holy Grail? Why did the Knights of 
the Round Table wish to find it? 

4. Describe the adventure of the sword in the river near 
the palace of King Arthur. 

5. Why was King Arthur sad when his knights left on the 
search for the Holy Grail? 

6. Why was Sir Melias so easily overcome by the knights 
of the forest ? Why could Sir Galahad so easily overcome these 
knights? 

7. What caused the death of Percivale’s sister? 

8. Why was the Holy Grail taken away from the country 
of Logris? 

9. How many knights who started out in the search for 
the Holy Grail finally saw it? What happened to it after the 
knights saw it uncovered? 

10. What happened to Sir Galahad after seeing the Holy 
Grail? 


LONGFELLOW’S TRIBUTE TO CHILDREN 

Come to me, O ye children! 

And whisper in my ear 
What the birds and the winds are singing 
In your sunny atmosphere. 

For what are all our contrivings, 

And the wisdom of our books, 

When compared with your caresses, 

And the gladness of your looks? 

Ye are better than all the ballads 
That ever were sung or said; 

For ye are the living poems, 

And all the rest are dead. 


226 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


ROBIN HOOD, THE OUTLAW 

Away back in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth 
centuries, before most people could read and write, 
and before there were well-developed towns and 
cities with places of entertainment, the people used 
to congregate in the lord’s manor or well-fortified 
castle, or, later, in the taverns and inns, where 
traveling singers, or minstrels, would stop and enter¬ 
tain them with stories sung to the accompaniment 
of a harp or perhaps just to the swaying of the body 
or to the tapping of the foot. These songs, or ballads, 
usually told about some daring hero who was given 
the credit for doing all sorts of bold deeds. There 
was often a refrain of “tra la la la la” or “Hey down 
down a down down” or some such nonsense combina¬ 
tion which made the tune more rollicking. 

One of the most popular ballad heroes about whom 
they sang was Robin Hood, who was a yeoman, archer* 
and woodsman who was outlawed for various reasons, 
probably the chief of which was his killing of the 
king’s deer and his refusal to obey the laws of the 
land. He started his daring career when he was about 
eighteen years old and made his home in Sherwood 
Forest near Nottingham, England. Before long he 
gathered about himself a band of .over a hundred 
outlaws like himself and became their leader and 
chief. These carefree men lived just as they pleased, 
hunting and roaming, playing games of archery, 
feasting on venison from the king’s private deer 
preserves, and drinking the best ale in the land. 
They all wore similar clothes of dark or Lincoln 
green so that they could hide themselves the more 
easily in the forest when the officers of justice came 
about. The Sheriff of Nottingham offered a reward 
of two hundred marks for the capture of Robin 








228 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


Hood, who constantly delighted in outwitting the 
surly old officer. 

It was the object of Robin Hood and his men to 
take from the rich and give to the poor; to help the 
needy to recover the money that the knights, barons, 
and nobles had taken from them by heavy taxes; 
to humble all braggarts and boasters, and to punish 
all insincere churchmen or clergy. They were espe¬ 
cially kind to women and children, to the weak and 
the aged. The common people soon learned that 
the members of Robin Hood's band were their friends, 
and so they often protected them. 

The favorite companions of Robin Hood all had 
queer names: Little John, Scarlet or Scathlok, and 
Much. The ballad that follows tells us how he came 
to add Scarlet to his band. It is only a sample of 
the scores of interesting ballads about this princely 
outlaw and his rollicking band of followers. You 
will notice that the words are sometimes queerly 
placed, but the spelling has been made modern so 
that you will have less trouble in reading the story 
than you would have if the old spelling common to 
ballads were used. 

ROBIN HOOD AND SCARLET 

Come listen a while, you gentlemen all, 

With a hey down down a down down, 

That are in this bower within, 

For a story of gallant bold Robin Hood 
I purpose now to begin. 

“What time of the day?" quoth Robin Hood then; 

Quoth Little John, ‘°Tis in the prime"; 

“Why, then we will to the green wood gang, 

For we have no victuals to dine." 


ROBIN HOOD 


229 


As Robin Hood walked the forest along— 

It was in the mid of the day— 

There was he met of a deft young man 
As ever walked on the way. 

His doublet it was of silk, he said, 

His stockings like scarlet shone, 

And he walked on along the way, 

To Robin Hood then unknown. 

A herd of deer was in the bend. 

All feeding before his face: 

“Now the best of ye Til have for my dinner, 

And that in a little space.” 

Now the stranger he made no mickle ado, 

But he bends his right good bow, 

And the best buck in the herd he slew, 

. Forty good yards him full fro. 

“Well shot, well shot,” quoth Robin Hood then, 
“That shot it was shot in time; 

And if thou wilt accept of the place, 

Thou shalt be a bold yeoman of mine.” 

“Go play the chiven,” the stranger said, 

“Make haste and quickly go; 

Or with this fist, be sure of this, 

Til give thee buffets store.” 

“Thou hadst not best buffet me,” quoth Robin Hood 
“For, though I seem forlorn, 

Yet I can have those that will take my part, 

If I but blow my horn.” 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


230 

“Thou wast not best wind thy horn,” the stranger 
said, 

“Beest thou ever so much in haste, 

For I can draw out a good broad sword, 

And quickly cut the blast.” 

Then Robin Hood bent a very good bow, 

To shoot, and that he would fain; 

The stranger he bent a very good bow, 

To shoot at bold Robin again. 

“Oh, hold thy hand, hold thy hand,” quoth Robin 
Hood, 

“To shoot it would be in vain; 

For if we should shoot the one at the other, 

The one of us may be slain. 

“But let's take our swords and our broad bucklers, 
And gang under yonder tree”: 

“As I hope to be saved,” the stranger said, 

“One foot I will not flee.” 

Then Robin Hood lent the stranger a blow 
Most scared him out of his wit; 

“Thou never dealt blow,” the stranger he said, 
“That shall be better quit.” 

The stranger he drew out a good broad sword, 

And hit Robin on the crown, 

That from every hair of bold Robin's head 
The blood came trickling down. 

“God a mercy, good fellow!” quoth Robin Hood then, 
“And for this that thou hast done; 


ROBIN HOOD 


231 


Tell me, good fellow, what thou art, 

Tell me where thou dost woon." 

The stranger then answered bold Robin Hood, 

“Til tell thee where I did dwell; 

In Maxfield was I bred and born, 

My name is Young Gamwell. 

“For killing my own father's steward, 

I am forced to this English wood, 

And for to seek an uncle of mine; 

Some call him Robin Hood." 

“But thou art a cousin of Robin Hood's then? 

The sooner we should have done": 

“As I hope to be saved," the stranger then said, 

“I am his own sister's son." 

Then heavens! what kissing and courting was there, 
When these two cousins did greet! 

And they went all that summer's day, 

And Little John did meet. 

But when they met with Little John, 

He there unto him did say, 

“O master, where have you been, 

You have tarried so long away?" 

“I met with a stranger," quoth Robin Hood then, 
“Full sore he hath beaten me": 

“Then I’ll have a bout with him," quoth Little John, 
“And try if he can beat me." 

“Oh no, oh no," quoth Robin Hood then, 

“Little John, it may not be so; 


2 3 2 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


For he’s my own dear sister’s son 
And cousins I have no more. 

“But he shall be a bold yeoman of mine, 

My chief man next to thee; 

And I Robin Hood, and thou Little John, 

And Scarlet he shall be: 

“And we’ll be three of the bravest outlaws 
That are in the North Country, 

We’ll hunt and we’ll roam from morn until night, 
And live a life carefree.” 

WORD OPPOSITES 

Object of this lesson is to help you in giving the exact mean¬ 
ing of words. 

Write your name on the first line of your paper and your 
grade on the second line. There should be io lines on your 
paper. 

Below is a list of words that have opposite meanings. 
Select the word in number one below that is opposite in meaning 
to the first word in the line. Continue until the 8 lines are 
finished. 

1. Night (stars, evening, day) 

2. Good (fair, right, bad) 

3. Light (color, heavy, weight) 

4. Strength (muscle, bones, nerves, weakness) 

5. High (up, away, low, here) 

6. Down (below, above, up, near) 

7. Inside (within, without, outside) 

8. Far (away, here, near, gone) 


PROSERPINA’S RETURN TO THE EARTH 


233 


SPEED TEST V 

When the teacher gives the signal to start, begin reading 
the story of Proserpina’s return. You are to read for three 
minutes, then draw a light line under the last word you were 
reading when the teacher gives you the signal “Check.” 
Then continue reading the story until you have finished. Be 
able to tell the story to the class after you have finished reading 
it the first time. 

Then count the number of words which you read in the 
three minutes which were allowed for the test. Divide the 
total number of words read in the three minutes by three so 
that your rate of reading may be found in words per minute. 
Compare your rate of reading with the class standard on page 
vii of the Introduction. 

Read the remainder of this introduction up to the title of 
the story and then close your book until the teacher gives you 
the signal to begin reading. 

As told in a preceding speed test, Pluto stole Proserpina, the 
daughter of Ceres, who was the goddess of all the grains, and 
carried her to his kingdom of darkness. She refused to eat or 
drink in Pluto’s palace, knowing that she would have to remain 
there if she ate any food. Finally she told Pluto that she liked 
fruits. He then sent one of his servants to the surface of the 
earth to find some fruit for her to eat. He could only find 
one shriveled pomegranate, which he took back with him. Pluto 
had this sent to Proserpina on a golden platter. 

Ceres sent Quicksilver down to Pluto’s kingdom to persuade 
Pluto to let Proserpina return. He was entering the palace 
just as the servant took the pomegranate to Proserpina. 

PROSERPINA’S RETURN TO THE EARTH 

As soon as Proserpina saw the pomegranate on the 
golden salver, she told the servant he had better take 
it away again. 

“I shall not touch, it, I assure you,” said she. 
“If I were ever so hungry, I should never think of 
eating such a miserable, dry pomegranate as that.” 


234 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


“It is the only one in the world,” said the servant. 

He set down the golden salver, with the wizened 
pomegranate upon it, and left the room. When he 
was gone, Proserpina could not help coming close 
to the table and looking at this poor specimen of dried 
fruit with a great deal of eagerness; for, to say the 
truth, on seeing something that suited her taste, she 
felt all the six months' appetite taking possession 
of her at once. To be sure, it was a very wretched- 
looking pomegranate, and seemed to have no more 
juice in it than an oyster shell. But there was no 
choice of such things in King Pluto's palace. This 
was the first fruit she had seen there, and the last 
that she was ever likely to see; and unless she ate it 
up immediately, it would grow drier than it already 
was, and be wholly unfit to eat. 

“At least, I may smell it,” thought Proserpina. 

So she took up the pomegranate, and applied it 
to her nose; and, somehow or other, being in such 
close neighborhood to her mouth, the fruit found its 
way into that little red cave. Dear me! what an 
everlasting pity! Before Proserpina knew what she 
was about, her teeth had actually bitten it, of their 
own accord. Just as this fatal deed was done, the 
door of the apartment opened, and in came King 
Pluto, followed by Quicksilver, who had been urging 
him to let his little prisoner go. At the first noise 
of their entrance, Proserpina withdrew the pome¬ 
granate from her mouth. But Quicksilver (whose 
eyes were very keen, and his wits the sharpest that 
ever anybody had) perceived that the child was a 
little confused; and, seeing the empty salver, he sus¬ 
pected that she had been taking a sly nibble of some¬ 
thing or other. As for honest Pluto, he never guessed 
at the secret. 


PROSERPINA’S RETURN TO THE EARTH 235 

My little Proserpina,” said the king, sitting down, 
and affectionately drawing her between his knees, 
here is Quicksilver, who tells me what a great many 
misfortunes have befallen innocent people on account 
of my detaining you in my dominions. To confess 
the truth, I myself had already reflected that it was 
an unjustifiable act to take you away from your good 
mother. But then you must consider, my dear child, 
that this.vast palace is apt to be gloomy (although 
the precious stones certainly shine very bright), 
and that I am not of the most cheerful disposi¬ 
tion, and that therefore it was a natural thing enough 
to seek for the society of some merrier creature than 
myself. I hoped you would take my crown for a 
plaything, and me—ah, you laugh, naughty Pro¬ 
serpina—me, grim as I am, for a playmate. It was a 
silly expectation.” 

“Not so extremely silly,” whispered Proserpina. 
“You have really amused me very much, sometimes.” 

“Thank you,” said King Pluto, rather dryly. 
“But I can see, plainly enough, that you think my 
palace a dusky prison, and me an iron-hearted keeper 
of it. And an iron heart I should surely have if I 
should detain you here any longer, my poor child, 
when it is now six months since you have tasted food. 
I give you your liberty. Go with Quicksilver. Has¬ 
ten home to your dear mother.” 

Now, although you may not have supposed it, 
Proserpina found it impossible to take leave of poor 
King Pluto without some regrets and a good deal of 
compunction for not telling him about the pome¬ 
granate. She even shed a tear or two, thinking how 
lonely and cheerless the great palace would seem to 
him, with all its ugly glare of artificial light, after she 
herself—his one little ray of natural sunshine, whom 


2 3 6 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


he had stolen, to be sure, but only because he valued 
her so much—after she should have departed. I 
know not how many kind things she might have said 
to the disconsolate king of the mines, had not 
Quicksilver hurried her away. 

“Come along quickly,” whispered he in her ear, 
“or his majesty may change his royal mind. And 
take care, above all things, that you say nothing of 
what was brought you on the golden salver.” 

In a very short time, they had passed the great 
gateway (leaving the three-headed Cerberus, bark¬ 
ing, and yelping, and growling, with threefold din, 
behind them), and emerged upon the surface of the 
earth. It was delightful to behold, as Proserpina 
hastened along, how the path grew verdant behind 
and on either side of her. Wherever she set her 
blessed foot, there was at once a dewy flower. The 
violets gushed up along the wayside. The grass and 
the grain began to sprout with tenfold vigor and 
luxuriance, to make up for the dreary months that 
had been wasted in barrenness. The starved cattle 
immediately set to work grazing, after their long fast, 
and ate enormously all day, and got up at midnight 
to eat more. But I can assure you it was a busy time 
of year with the farmers, when they found the sum¬ 
mer coming upon them with such a rush. Nor must I 
forget to say that all the birds in the whole world 
hopped about upon the newly blossoming trees, and 
sang together in a prodigious ecstasy of joy. 

Mother Ceres had returned to her deserted home, 
and was sitting disconsolately on the doorstep, 
with her torch burning in her hand. She had been 
idly watching the flame for some moments past, 
when, all at once, it flickered and went out. 


PROSERPINA’S RETURN TO THE EARTH 237 

What does this mean?” thought she. “It was 
an enchanted torch, and should have kept burning 
till my child came back.” 

Lifting her eyes, she was surprised to see a sudden 
verdure flashing over the brown and barren fields, 
exactly as you may have observed a golden hue 
gleaming far and wide across the landscape from the 
just risen sun. 

“Does the earth disobey me?” exclaimed Mother 
Ceres, indignantly. “Does it presume to be green, 
when I have bidden it be barren until my daughter 
shall be restored to my arms?” 

“Then open your arms, dear mother,” cried a well- 
known voice, “and take your little daughter into 
them.” 

And Proserpina came running, and flung herself 
upon her mother’s bosom. Their mutual transport 
is not to be described. The grief of their separation 
had caused both of them to shed a great many 
tears; and now they shed a great many more, because 
their joy could not so well express itself in any other 
way. 

When their hearts had grown a little more quiet, 
Mother Ceres looked anxiously at Proserpina. 

“My child,” said she, “did you taste any food while 
you were in King Pluto’s palace?” 

“Dearest mother/ 7 answered Proserpina, “I will 
tell you the whole truth. Until this very morning, 
not a morsel of food had passed my lips. But to-day 
they brought me a pomegranate (a very dry one it 
was, and all shriveled up, till there was little left of 
it but seeds and skin), and having seen no fruit 
for so long a time, and being faint with hunger,. I 
was tempted just to bite it. The instant I tasted it, 


238 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


King Pluto and Quicksilver came into the room. I 
had not swallowed a morsel; but—dear mother, I 
hope it was no harm—but six of the pomegranate 
seeds, I am afraid, remained in my mouth.” 

“Ah, unfortunate child, and miserable me!” 
exclaimed Ceres. “For each of those six pomegranate 
seeds you must spend one month of every year in 
King Pluto's palace. You are but half restored to 
your mother. Only six months with me, and six 
with that good-for-nothing King of Darkness!” 

“Do not speak so harshly of poor King Pluto,” 
said Proserpina, kissing her mother. “He has some 
very good qualities; and I really think I can bear to 
spend six months in his palace, if he will only let me 
spend the other six with you. He certainly did very 
wrong to carry me off; but then, as he says, it was but 
a dismal sort of life for him, to live in that great 
gloomy place, all alone; and it has made a wonderful 
change in his spirits to have a little girl to run up 
stairs and down. There is some comfort in making 
him so happy; and so, upon the whole, dearest 
mother, let us be thankful that he is not to keep me 
the whole year round.” 

From “The Pomegranate Seeds ” 

—Nathaniel Hawthorne 

1. What does Proserpina represent? 

2. What season do we have when Proserpina is staying with 
Pluto in the Kingdom of Darkness? 

3. How long does Proserpina stay with Pluto at each 
visit? Why was the time divided between Ceres and Pluto in 
that way? 

4. What is a pomegranate? 

5. Whom did Ceres send to bring Proserpina back to the 
earth? 


THE CORN-SONG 


2 39 


THE CORN-SONG 

This is one of America’s best loved hymns of Thanksgiving. 
Commit it to memory by the method suggested on page 36, 
for you will want it for your own in days to come. 

Draw a picture of one of the scenes described in this poem. 

Heap high the farmer’s wintry hoard! 

Heap high the golden corn! 

No richer gift has Autumn poured 
From out her lavish horn! 

Let other lands, exulting, glean 
The apple from the pine, 

The orange from its glossy green, 

The cluster from the vine; 

We better love the hardy gift 
Our rugged vales bestow, 

To cheer us when the storm shall drift 
Our harvest-fields with snow. 

Through vales of grass and meads of flowers 
Our ploughs their furrows made, 

While on the hills the sun and showers 
Of changeful April played. 

We dropped the seed o’er hill and plain, 
Beneath the sun of May, 

And frightened from our sprouting grain 
The robber crows away. 

All through the long, bright days of June 
Its leaves grew green and fair, 

And waved in hot midsummer’s noon 
Its soft and yellow hair. 


240 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


And now, with autumn's moonlit eves, 

Its harvest-time has come, 

We pluck away the frosted leaves, 

And bear the treasure home. 

There, when the snows about us drift, 

And winter winds are cold, 

Fair hands the broken grain shall sift. 

And knead its meal of gold. 

Let vapid idlers loll in silk 
Around their costly board; 

Give us the bowl of samp and milk, 

By homespun beauty poured! 

Where’er the wide old kitchen hearth 
Sends up its smoky curls, 

Who will not thank the kindly earth, 

And bless our farmer girls! 

Then shame on all the proud and vain, 
Whose folly laughs to scorn 

The blessing of our hardy grain. 

Our wealth of golden corn! 

Let earth withhold her goodly root, 

Let mildew blight the rye, 

Give to the worm the orchard’s fruit. 

The wheat-field to the fly: 

But let the good old crop adorn 
The hills our fathers trod; 

Still let us, for his golden corn, 

Send up our thanks to God! 

—John Greenleaf Whittier 


WHAT BRUCE LEARNED 


241 


SPEED TEST VI 

You are to begin reading at a signal from your teacher and 
place a check mark (vO after the last word you were reading 
when she calls, “Time.” Then finish reading the selection in 
case you had not done so before time was called. 

Next take a sheet of paper and answer in writing the ques¬ 
tions following the story. Do not refer to the selection to 
find an answer, because this is a test to see how well you can 
get the thought in one rapid reading. Answer with complete 
sentences. 

When you have answered the questions, count the number 
of words read up to the check mark and divide by two to get 
your rate in words per minute. Your teacher will have called 
time at the end of two minutes. 

WHAT BRUCE LEARNED 

“O father, see the lighthouse!” cried Bruce Day- 
ton. “It’s standing out in the water ever so far 
from shore!” 

Bruce drew his father nearer to the steamer rail, 
and pointed across the water to the lighthouse that 
had attracted his attention. It was solid concrete 
from top to bottom; and it had neither doors nor 
windows. On top there was a huge lantern that in¬ 
closed the light, and a big foghorn. 

“Where does the keeper live?” asked Bruce. 

“The keeper lives in the little port; that is the little 
town that you see far up the bay,” said Mr. Dayton. 
“His name is Captain Bennett. I know him well.” 

“But if he lives so far away, how does he take care 
of the light?” asked Bruce. 

“He doesn't,” said Mr. Dayton. “The light takes 
care of itself. All the keeper does is to press a button 
at the station far away there on shore, and that 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


242 

lights the light. If it is foggy, he presses another but¬ 
ton, and that starts the foghorn. Then the keeper 
goes away, and all night long the lighthouse takes 
care of itself.” 

“Why, that sounds almost like magic,” said Bruce. 
“I don't see how the man does it.” 

“Well, you shall see when we get ashore,” said his 
father. “We are going to visit Captain Bennett at 
his station. You can ask him.” 

“Oh, I hope we'll get there soon!” said Bruce, 
eagerly. “Perhaps we may see him light the light.” 

Bruce Dayton was only seven years old, but he 
knew more about lighthouses than many grown 
people, for he often went on short trips with his 
father, who was a government inspector of light¬ 
houses. But when Mr. Dayton went on long trips, 
he had to leave Bruce at home with the housekeeper. 
Bruce did not like to be left behind, for he was 
timid, and, although a big boy, he was afraid of the 
dark, and often cried himself to sleep when he was 
alone. 

“Here we are,” said Mr. Dayton, a half hour later, 
when they stood at the door of a neat white house at 
the head of the steamboat wharf. “This is the sta¬ 
tion I spoke of, Bruce, and here is Captain Bennett 
himself. It must be almost time to light the light.'' 

Bruce had many important questions to ask the 
captain, but for the next few minutes he was so busy 
seeing things that he forgot to say a word. He saw 
the button that lighted the light and the button 
that made the foghorn go; and then Captain Ben¬ 
nett ope led a trapdoor and showed him the great 
cable—almost as large round as Bruce's body— 
that ran from the station under the water all the way 
out to the light. 


WHAT BRUCE LEARNED 


243 


There s an errand boy who never makes a mis- 
take, said' Captain Bennett, pointing to the cable. 

It is a mile and a half out to the lighthouse, but my 
messages go safely every time I press the button. 
If you’d like to send a message out to the light by my 
big errand boy, Bruce, perhaps to-night I might let 
you try.” 

“Oh, do let me try!” said Bruce, eagerly. 

“Very well,” said the captain. “It is almost time 
to light the light. Be ready to press the button when 
I give you the word.” 

Bruce placed his finger on the button, and fixed his 
eyes on the captain, who stood by, and waited with 
his watch in his hand. 

“Now!” said Captain Bennett, pleasantly. 

Bruce pressed the button, and an instant later he 
saw the light twinkle far down the bay. 

Bruce was very quiet all the way home. Mr. 
Dayton wondered what he was thinking about. 
A week later he was obliged to leave Bruce and go 
away on one of his long trips. 

“Good-by, father!” said Bruce, bravely. “I’m 
going to be like that little light that takes care of 
itself.” 

“That’s right, my boy,” said Mr. Dayton. “And 
I’ll be like Captain Bennett. Though I’m miles 
away, I shall be thinking of you and caring for you 
just the same.” 

—Mary E. Jackson 
Courtesy of “The Youth's Companion 9 

Questions 

1. What was Bruce’s last name? 

1 . How old was Bruce? 


244 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


3. What was his father’s business? 

4. What was “the errand boy that never makes a mistake” ? 

5. How far was Captain Bennett’s home on the wharf 
from the light in the lighthouse? 

FROM Z TO A 

You can’t make out class rolls or compile telephone books or 
anything else which contain long lists of names, and keep those 
names in anything like order, unless you set them down in 
alphabetical order. Sometimes the alphabetical order for names 
has its disadvantages. It was so in the case of Zeno, who was 
a clown boy in an old-fashioned circus. 

“As my name began with Z, the last letter in the alphabet,” 
writes Zeno to Everybody 5 Magazine , in telling of the old 
days, “I was always last on the pay roll, and about half the 
time the cash ran out before they came to me. I stayed on, 
for I was getting my beans and some money every once in a 
while.” 

With only part of his wages during the working season, and 
no money at all coming in during the workless weeks, the poor 
clown, instead of being able to pay his own way back to the 
place from which the circus was to make its start, the following 
spring, had to telegraph for his ticket money. 

“Glad to see you, Zeno,” the manager told the clown when 
he appeared. “You go on the pay roll, beginning to-day.” 

“Wait a minute!” said the boy, whose experiences had taught 
him a hard lesson, “I’ll go back on the pay roll, but not as 
Zeno. This year I go on as Ajax.” 


—The Pioneer. 


THE EARTH’S ENVELOPE 


2 45 


THE EARTH’S ENVELOPE 

The earth is surrounded by a wonderful envelope. 
This envelope is thought to be over a hundred miles 
thick, and yet it is so light that the animals and 
plants on the surface of the earth are not crushed by 
it. This wonderful envelope, the air, is so thin and 
clear that it lets the rays of the sun through it to 
warm the earth, but it is dense enough to act as a 
blanket to keep the heat from going off into the space 
beyond the earth. Without the air, plants and ani¬ 
mals of the kinds now living on the earth could not 
exist here. 

Many simple experiments can be performed to 
teach us some of the facts about the air which we 
should all know. 

One of the first things which we should know about 
the air is that it has weighty even though it seems to 
us to be very light. There are several waysjn which 
we may show that air has weight. Take a football 
or a basketball which has not been filled with air. 
Weigh the basketball and bladder without the air 
in it. Then pump it up very full of air and weigh it 
again. If you have a pair of scales that are very 
delicately balanced, you will find that the basketball 
full of air weighs a small quantity more than it did 
when it was empty. Although air has weight, it is 
so light that it takes a large quantity of it to weigh 
very much. The air in a room 12 feet long, 10 feet 
wide, and 9 feet high weighs only about 90 pounds. 
The same room full of water would weigh over 67,000 
pounds. 

We walk about in the air and do not feel the weight 
of the hundred miles of it above us. It is pressing 
down on all parts of our body, but our body has been 


246 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


made to stand the weight of the air. Several simple 
experiments can be performed to show that the air 
is pressing on every object on the earth. Fill a 
tumbler level full of water. Place a card over the 
top of the tumbler and, with your hand holding the 
card in place, turn the tumbler with the card down¬ 
ward. You may then take your hand away and the 
pressure of the air on the card will hold the water in 
the glass. The air is pressing up on the bottom of the 
card. 



You may also show the pressure of the air on the 
surface of the earth by filling a bottle with water, 
holding your hand over the mouth of the bottle, and 
turning it over with the mouth of the bottle under the 
surface of some water in a pan or kettle. The air 
pressing down on the surface of the water will hold 
the water up in the bottle. The pressure of the air on 
the top of the water in the pan is so great that it 
would hold up the water if the bottle were 30 feet 
tall. 

Many other interesting experiments can be per¬ 
formed with a bottle and some water. Get a rubber 
stopper with a single hole in it through which you can 

























THE EARTH’S ENVELOPE 


247 



run a glass tube. Fill the bottle about one-fourth 
full of water. Have one end of the glass tube about 
three-fourths of an inch below the surface of the 
water in the bottle. Both the glass tube and the 
rubber stopper must fit air-tight. Then blow as 
much air into the bottle as you can. When you 
take your mouth away from the top of the glass tube, 
the extra air which you have forced into the bottle 
will press down on the surface of the water and force 
some of the water out through the glass tube forming 
a water fountain. 

If you have a wide-mouthed bottle and a large 
rubber cork to fit it, you can also do this experiment. 
Over the mouth of a small vaseline bottle tie a piece 
of thin sheet rubber such as that in a toy balloon. 
Put the vaseline bottle inside the large bottle. 
Blow air into the large bottle. The air in the large 
bottle will then be under greater pressure than the 
air in the small bottle. It will therefore press the 
rubber down into the neck of the small bottle. 
Then suck air out of the large bottle. The air in the 
small bottle will then be more dense than the air in 
the large bottle and will puff up the rubber sheet 
above the mouth of the bottle. 
















248 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


This experiment shows how easily air can be com¬ 
pressed into a closed vessel and expand into a larger 
space when the pressure is decreased. 

Air is so light and springy that it is used as a 
cushion for the tires of our automobiles. You do 
not appreciate how much easier it makes the car 
ride until you have a flat tire and go bumping around 
over the rough places in the road. 

Tennis balls, basketballs, and footballs are filled 
with compressed air to make them springy so that 
we can knock or kick them easily. 

But even though air is very useful as a cushion, 
in many ways it is absolutely necessary for us to live. 
It contains oxygen which is needed to purify our 
blood. The air is breathed into our lungs, where the 
oxygen from the air can go through the thin mem¬ 
branes of the blood vessels and purify the blood. 
If the air becomes filled with a poisonous gas such 
as the gas with which we cook, and there is not 
enough oxygen in it, one will soon die. A man was 
working on his automobile in his garage with the 
doors closed. He started his engine and crawled 
under the car to do some work. The poisonous gas 
from the exhaust pipe of the engine soon filled the 
room, and the man was overcome with the poisonous 
gas and died before he could get out of the garage. 

If a great many people are in a room, they soon 
make the air impure unless the air is changed. When 
the blood takes in the oxygen in the lungs, it gives 
off a poisonous gas, called carbon dioxide. If 
a person were shut up in a small air-tight room, he 
would use up the oxygen out of the air and breathe 
out carbon dioxide until finally he would be suf¬ 
focated by the impure air. You can show that carbon 
dioxide is in the air that you breathe out of your lungs 


THE EARTH’S ENVELOPE 


249 


by blowing it through a tube stuck into a bottle filled 
with limewater. Breathe in through your nose and 
blow out the air through the glass tube which is 
held in the bottle of limewater. The limewater will 
finally turn to a milky color. If you study chemistry 
in the high school, you will find out why the carbon 
dioxide causes the limewater to turn this color. 

Questions and Experiments 

1. Mention some other uses of compressed air besides 
the uses mentioned in this article. 

2. Work out some other experiment which will show you 
something about air. Make up one yourself or find one in 
some book or magazine. 

3. Fill a large glass jar full of water and invert it with the 
mouth of the jar below the surface of the water in a large pan. 
Put a rubber tube under the mouth of the jar. Fill your lungs 
with air and blow out all the air that you can without 
taking another breath. The air will go up to the top of the 
glass jar and drive out some of the water. The quantity of the 
air in the top of the jar will show you how much extra air 
your lungs will hold. 

4. What causes water to gurgle out of the mouth of a 
bottle or a jug? 

5. How high can an aviator go up in an aeroplane? Find 
the latest altitude record made by an aviator? Who holds the 
record ? 

6. Why will it be impossible for an aviator ever to mount 
100 miles in the air? 

7. Why is it so difficult for any one to climb to the top of 
a very high mountain? 

8. Why do aviators carry an extra supply of oxygen with 
them when they fly to a great height? 


250 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


MARVELS OF ANT LIFE 

The ant is one of the most interesting insects in the world. 
You will enjoy reading the following article which was taken 
from the November, 1922, number of the American Magazine. 

In reading this article, jot down certain words or expressions 
which will recall to your mind the facts or incidents of the 
selection. Then close the book and either make a written or 
or an oral report (as the teacher directs) of this interesting 
article. 

For example, the following expressions will serve to recall 
the main facts found in the first few paragraphs: 

Ways in which ants resemble human beings. 

Solomon’s lesson on the ant. 

Ants stealing sugar—how found—why so many there? 

Life in an ant city—how constructed? 

If you wish, you may make your “key” expression much 
more complete. For example, the last expression in the pre¬ 
ceding list may be enlarged to include many details as follows: 

Life in an ant city: 

Population of cities compared with New York. 

Apartment houses in Pennsylvania. 

Construction of apartment houses. 

Largest: 1,700 houses; 30 acres; 8,000,000. 

Every citizen knows every other citizen—proof 

You will find that this method of study will also help you 
to learn a history or geography lesson as well as assist you in 
making a special class report. Try using it in studying your 
next lesson in one of these subjects. 

Of all the creatures on this planet the one whose 
life most closely resembles our own is the ant. It 
might almost be said that we have no form of activity 
which he has not, unless it is the recording of ex¬ 
periences and the invention of tools. He builds 
cities, constructs highways, digs tunnels, wages wars. 
He domesticates other insects, using them for his 
own purposes. He keeps cows, and he seems even 


MARVELS OF ANT LIFE 


251 


to have pets. And, most remarkable of all, perhaps, 
he makes slaves of his own race. 

Apparently he has his virtues and also his vices. 
He has his priests and Levites, and he has also his 
Good Samaritans. He works for the common good, 
to which end he sacrifices his life without a moment's 
hesitation; and at the same time he knows how to 
look out for himself. 

He makes scientists marvel. Size considered, his 
brain, they say, is perhaps the most marvelously 
functioning organ in nature. He furnishes illustra¬ 
tions for the moralist: “Go to the ant, thou slug¬ 
gard,” wrote Solomon. “Consider her ways and be 
wise.” And then he adds: “Which, having no 
guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth meat in the sum¬ 
mer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.” 
********** 

Everybody knows that the ant is a busy creature. 
We see him running about, almost madly, intent on 
some task. Most housewives know from experience 
that he is even a remarkable creature. For if you 
are a housewife, you have been surprised some morn¬ 
ing to see a procession of them invading your cup¬ 
board, or your sugar bowl which the cook has left 
open. 

Probably there are two lines of them, one enter¬ 
ing the place of treasure, the other coming out. 
Those who come out are laden, each one, with a tiny 
crumb of bread or crystal of sugar. Literally they 
are removing the contents of your cupboards or bowl. 

Now if, instead of running for a kettle of boiling 
water, you watch them for a while, you will, provided 
you have a sense of wonder, begin to ask yourself some 
questions: Who told them the cook left the cover 
off the sugar bowl last night? How did all those 


252 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


marching thousands get together so quickly? Where 
did they come from, and where are they so feverishly 
conveying their burdens? Who is superintending this 
invasion ? 

Well, the answer to the first question is that a scout 
found the treasure. After tasting it and seeing that 
it was good, he bustled around and told a fellow 
citizen, one from the same nest as himself—never 
from another! If you had been watching, you would 
have seen two of them holding quite a conversa¬ 
tion, rubbing together their antennae or feelers, even 
standing erect as if excited. 

Next, you would have seen the scout and citizen 
hurry away to find their friends. You would have 
witnessed a number of conversations on the way, 
and at the nest considerable excitement. Having 
collected a group, the original discoverer, led them 
to the cupboard. The excitement spreads, the 
news is broadcasted, the procession grows. By the 
time you got into the kitchen, the entire ant com¬ 
munity knew about it, and the procession was under 
way. 

Who is bossing this enterprise? The answer is 
easy. There is no boss present; or, so far as anyone 
has ever been able to discover, is there even an absent 
boss. In that procession each ant is doing his part. 
He needs no boss. You are looking upon the work¬ 
ings of an organization, the life of which human 
beings may never be able to perfect: the workings of 
a perfect democracy. “Which having no guide, 
overseer, or ruler,” as Solomon said, “provideth her 
meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the 
harvest.” 

But where did the host of tiny creatures come 
from? What common bond holds them together? 


MARVELS OF ANT LIFE 


253 

V\ e shall not follow this particular species which 
invades your house, except to say that somewhere, 
not far off, perhaps in a basement or an old stump, 
is a nest or settlement of them—perhaps a city. 
And this brings us to a phase of ant life that closely 
resembles our own. Ants build cities, and the popula¬ 
tion of some of these cities is larger than that of New 
York or of London. 

A few of the largest are in the Pennsylvania moun¬ 
tains. They consist of mounds, or “apartment 
houses/’ which, compared with the size of their 
builders and tenants, leave our most enormous 
structures far behind. These apartment houses are 
conical in shape, are built of sand and tiny pebbles, 
and are erected and held in shape on the principle by 
which the pyramids were constructed. 

Within them, both above and below ground, are 
intricate mazes of halls, passageways, storerooms, 
galleries, nurseries, and granaries. Within them 
goes on a life whose activities are almost as varied 
as our own. Food is being stored, larvae or eggs 
moved into nurseries, young ants attended to. 
There are even pets in here! 

The city itself consists of a number of these houses. 
The largest city contains seventeen hundred of them, 
and covers thirty acres; and the estimated population 
is eight million citizens. 

And now we come to one of the strangest facts in 
ant life: Every citizen of that London of theirs 
knows every other citizen — will know him even 
if he meets him miles away from home in a foreign 
land! 

From the northern end of this vast city a shovelful 
of ants was taken and dumped near a large apart- 


254 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


ment house at the southern end. Immediately, 
ready for battle, the ants came rushing out, angry, 
ready to fight, to repel an invasion. But suddenly 
all signs of enmity ceased. They were touching and 
stroking one another with their feelers. They seemed 
to be shaking hands. Excitement died down. 

The ants of the apartment house returned, either 
to their indoor duties, or to their tasks in the streets. 
The dwellers from the north side entered into these 
activities. 

This recognition is all the more evident, because 
these ants invariably attack strangers, as most species 
do. Go to another city, bring 'another shovelful in, 
and the strangers will be driven out, and many of 
them destroyed. You will see a little battle as fierce 
and relentless as anything in nature. Far more than 
human beings, ants of the same community stick 
together. But they do not believe in a League of 
Nations—even as much as we do. 

How they recognize one another nobody knows. 
Surely this recognition is not individual, surely 
“John Smith” does not know “Frank Jones” per¬ 
sonally. Some observers think they have a password 
or sign. Others believe they know who “belongs” 
by smell. Certainly ants soaked in wintergreen are 
attacked by their friends; but that may only prove 
that ants do not like wintergreen. Sometimes, it is 
said, ants soaked in water are also attacked, but not 
always. The mode of recognition is one of the secrets 
nature has not yet been forced to give up. 

In all their group activities—their recognition of 
one another, their work in unison, their concert of 
action in time of calamity or war—there seems some¬ 
thing mechanical, some instinct we do not have and 
cannot comprehend. It is as if each insect is a cog 


MARVELS OF ANT LIFE 


2 55 



A Large Ant-Hill 


in a machine, rather than an individual. 

If, for instance, an apartment house is cut in 
two with a spade—a calamity comparable to the 
San Francisco earthquake—the tenants for a while 
show great agitation and dismay, running about 
aimlessly as if distracted. But for only a short 
time. Then, as if some voice we cannot hear has 
spoken to them, each one begins doing the thing 
nearest at hand. One picks up the pupae, or young, 
who cannot bear the light of day, and runs into deeper 
caverns; another seizes a grain of sand and begins to 
fill the breach nearest him. Soon each is at his 
task. The excitement dies down; the machine-like 
performance begins. 

Yet they are individuals; they differ from one 
another. Some, like certain human beings, seem 





256 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


merciful and compassionate; others are hard-hearted, 
like human beings. Varying characters they have, 
even as you and I. They will get drunk if you give 
them liquor; and some of the sober ones will be 
tolerant of the drunken, while some will not be. 

Sir John Lubbock, an English authority on ants, 
made forty ants drunk and placed them beside a 
highway over which the sober ones, intent on their 
tasks, were traveling to and fro. To give variety to 
the experiment, he saw to it that twenty of these 
were friends to the passersby and twenty were 
strangers. 

The sober ants on seeing the drunken ones acted 
in a very excited manner, as though scandalized by 
the spectacle. They ran round and round, examining 
closely the drunken ones. Finally they began to 
pick them up, friends and strangers alike. 

Near by was a small pool of water. After running 
around a while with their burdens, they began to 
drop some of them into this pool, but mostly it was 
the strangers who got the ducking. With a few 
exceptions, the friends were taken home to sober up. 
In all, sixteen of the friends were taken home and four 
thrown into the water, while of the strangers seven¬ 
teen were thrown into the water and three taken 
home. What became of the three strangers Sir 
John does not know. I have strong suspicions that 
they never came out of the nest alive. 

But here was the funniest thing that he saw. 
One charitably inclined ant, with an intoxicated 
fellow citizen on his back, was met at the door of the 
apartment house by two outraged citizens, who 
immediately seized the drunken one, ran to the 
pool, and dumped him into the water. Perhaps these 
two were radical prohibitionists, or perhaps the in¬ 
toxicated ant was an old offender. 


marvels of ant life 


257 


It was Sir John Lubbock again who chloroformed 
an ant and placed him beside the road unconscious. 
Seven ants passed by. Three or four paid no atten¬ 
tion to their helpless brother; two or three examined 
him, then passed by on the other side. Then 
came one who picked him up and carried him home. 
And thus in ant life was enacted the drama of the 
Priest and the Levite, and of the Good Samaritan. 

Drama is an interplay of individuals. Over and 
over in ant life these tiny dramas show them to be 
individuals like ourselves. Wounded ants are passed 
up by one, and conveyed to a place of safety by an¬ 
other. Deformed ants—for they have their maimed 
and halt and blind—are taken off to die by a hard¬ 
hearted one, only to be rescued and nursed by one 
with tender emotions. 

But in favor of human beings this must be said: 
The proportion of merciful individuals among us is 
higher than it is among ants. Only two men passed 
by the wounded traveler on the way to Jericho; 
whereas sometimes fifty or a hundred ants pass by a 
helpless brother, and in all that crowd the Good 
Samaritan does not appear. In time of battle, ants 
sometimes rush to the aid of one who is sore pressed; 
but the motive seems to be to kill the enemy rather 
than to rescue the friend. 

Ants are not inclined to credit one another’s 
testimony unless that testimony is supported by 
evidence. They haven’t quite the faith in one 
another which we have. Sir John Lubbock saw an 
ant dragging a dead spider to the nest. Immediately 
he stuck a pin through the spider and into the ground. 
For fifteen minutes the discoverer tugged away at his 
impaled burden, then ran home for help. 


258 COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 

He remained in the nest a long time. He must 
have been doing considerable arguing down, there. 
Finally he came out with seven others; but, in con¬ 
trast with his own excitement, these seven seemed 
indifferent and showed a tendency not to follow. 
Time and time again he ran back, as if to convince 
them, but their skepticism grew. 

“Where are you taking us?” they seemed to ask. 
Finally they grew disgusted and stopped. “I don't 
believe he's found a thing,” was apparently their 
conclusion, for they turned about and went back 
home. 

But meanwhile another ant had discovered the 
anchored spider, and by hard tugging had managed 
to pull off a leg. Home he ran with his evidence, 
and came out immediately with fifteen others, who 
followed him willingly and swiftly. The second ant 
had not relied on his word alone; he had taken home 
the documentary evidence. 

I have myself seen an ant, on discovering a piece 
of cake, bite off a large chunk of it and then go for 
help. Not only the first, but the second and third 
fellow citizen he met he allowed to taste the cake. 
His method was so convincing that in a short time 
the whole community was going after that cake. 
In ant life it's a good thing to take a sample of your 
discovery or product along, just as it is in human 
life. Solomon might have sent us to the ant to 
learn the superior value of concrete evidence over 
mere unsupported statements. 

Ants not only build larger cities than we do, but 
they are far better citizens. No observer had ever 
seen an ant loaf on the job, or hold up or assault a 


MARVELS OF ANT LIFE 


259 

fellow citizen. There are no lawbreakers, and no 
policemen or courts, for there is no need of them. 
Solomon sent the sluggard to the ant!—he might 
also have sent the lawbreaker. 

Occasionally, though, an individual stays out late 
at night. Some of the apartment houses are closed 
at dusk by pulling a small pebble or leaf over the 
opening. It seems that it is always the same ant, the 
porter or janitor, that shuts the door. 

For an hour, according to the observer who tells 
the story, a stream of citizens had poured in; and at 
dusk the porter had closed the door by picking up 
the pebble, backing in, and depositing it behind him. 
Then, it is to be presumed, he returned to his seat 
in the rear of the hall. 

Half an hour later arrived the belated citizen. 
Finding the door closed on him, he proceeded to open 
it. No sooner had he begun to do so, than from the 
inside appeared the mandibles of the porter, who 
was trying to hold it in place. But the citizen, a 
husky fellow evidently, succeeded at last in dragging 
the door open, porter and all, and running in. 
Whereupon the porter once more closed it, and re¬ 
tired grumbling, no doubt. 

Ants are not inventors as we are. They carry no 
tools except what nature provides. They do not 
need to be inventors, so perfect are these tools for 
their needs. Likewise, they are many times stronger 
than we, and their works many times more extensive. 
One of man’s most collosal achievements is the 
pyramids. But ant mounds have been found, which, 
in proportion to the size of the builders, surpass our 
pyramids nearly two hundred times. From the top 
to the bottom of a mound a single shaft eight feet 


26 o 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


deep has been unearthed. To equal that we would 
have to erect a shaft one thousand four hundred 
eight feet in length. 

An ant was observed carrying a pebble from the 
bottom to the top of a mound. The pebble and the 
ant were weighed. To equal in strength such a feat, 
a baggage porter would have to carry a trunk weigh¬ 
ing half a ton up stair steps a tenth of a mile high. 

Like men, ants are engineers. They build roads 
leading to their settlements; and, in some places at 
least, these roads are not accidently laid out but are 
run straight like streets, and are carved through 
forests of grass. In order to cut down the blades of 
grass two or three ants climb to the top while another 
saws at the base. The weight of those above topples 
the obstacle over, and thus saves the labor of sawing 
all the way through the base. 

They construct tunnels or tubes. In one instance, 
ants injured the garden of an army post in Texas 
so that they had to be driven out and methods taken 
to prevent their return. Using the water of a 
creek, a moat was constructed on the other three 
sides, a moat filled with water and some four feet 
wide. Nevertheless, the ants reappeared in the 
garden! Thereupon, the moat was drained; and, 
underneath the mud, a tunnel was found with ants 
passing to and fro. 

Man is not daunted by obstacles. He peoples the 
wilderness; he tunnels the mountains; he drains the 
jungles. Nor are ants daunted, either collectively 
or individually. If one of them is forcibly detained 
from his task for hours or even for days, he goes 
back when turned loose and begins work exactly 
where he left off. 


MARVELS OF ANT LIFE 


26l 

They get around difficulties in remarkable ways: 
a man whose word is not to be questioned had a 
habit of putting sugar in his window, and watching 
the column of ants come and bear it off. Finally, 
he placed the. sugar in a plate, and suspended the 
plate by a string from the top of the window. The 
ants climbed the window casing, came down the 
string, and continued to bear off the sugar. 

But one morning he arose to find the old order 
established on his window sill. From the bottom 
a procession of ants were bearing off sugar. He 
looked into the plate. Half a dozen fellows were 
dumping it out to those below! They were taking 
advantage of the force of gravitation to do part of 
their work for them. 

I have said that ants domesticate other insects, 
and keep creatures known as cows. These cows, 
or aphides, are small plant lice which, when stroked 
by ants, give off a drop of sweet fluid, just as cows 
give their food when milked. Not only do they keep 
these creatures, but they build sheds for them, 
protect them from marauding ants, and raise the 
young from eggs. 

As for the pets, it really does strain the imagination 
to think of the small beetles that live in ant houses 
as such. Yet these beetles seem to be of no other 
use; they do not contribute anything to the actual 
life of the ant, so far as can be definitely ascertained. 
Yet the ants not only tolerate them, but caress them. 

Some observers think these beetles may be ser¬ 
vants, scavengers, scullery maids, as it were. If 
the latter, they perform good service, for ant houses 
are clean. And not only the houses, but the ants 
themselves. Observers, in order to watch the wan- 


2,62 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


derings of one certain ant, sometimes touch him with 
a drop of paint. They have to hurry up their obser¬ 
vations, for other ants will clean this paint off their 
fellow citizen. 

Like us, ants have enemies and perils. Life is 
not to them, any more than to us, one grand sweet 
song. The ant-eater devours them in multitudes, 
and even in countries where he does not roam there 
is a foe known as the ant lion. This is a small beetle¬ 
like bug with powerful jaws, who bores into the sand 
backward, leaving a pit like an inverted cone behind 
—a pit into which ants busy in search of food some¬ 
times tumble; whereupon the powerful jaws reach 
out, and that night there is one less ant in the apart¬ 
ment house where he hitherto lived and worked. 

But, as with us, the principal enemy is their own 
species. Lions and beasts, tempests and storms slay 
their thousands of ants and men; but ants and men 
slay their millions of each other. Like nations, these 
small insects wage wars; and like nations, they wage 
these wars for spoils. 

Some afternoon if you are watching—most ant 
wars begin in the afternoon—you may see a city in 
excitement. A warlike expedition is about to set 
forth. Out of the mounds streams of warriors are 
issuing in shining armor, and a line like that of a 
marching army is setting out for a neighboring nest 
or city. 

How well organized is this democratic army, 
which has no marshals, or generals, or captains! 
How swiftly it moves, while off to one side, through 
the grass, run the sentinels! What excitement 
prevails in the neighboring city about to be at¬ 
tacked! For already alarmed scouts have told the 
news. 


MARVELS OF ANT LIFE 


263 

On the mounds themselves, and on the ground 
round about, the desperate battle is waged. They 
fight as men fought in the Middle Ages, groups 
here and there, biting and hacking at one another. 
No creature battles more fiercely, or with more 
self-sacrificing devotion. Personal danger is forgotten 
in the common good. 

When I was a boy in the sandhills of the South, 
I used sometimes to catch a big red ant, whose species 
I do not know, a solitary powerful fellow with deadly 
mandibles and jaws, and place him near a mound of 
small black ants. At the first alarm the little fellows 
would rush out at him. Not one held back, though 
the first dozen or more were rushing to inevitable 
death. Between his mandibles this giant would 
crush them, and toss them aside. 

Still they came on thicker and thicker, until 
down in the white sand was a confused and squirming 
group of them, with the dead comrades scattered 
about. At last the big red body moved no more. 
The mighty was conquered—dead. The first little 
fellow who rushed at him, and the second and the 
third, were heroes; not because they were different 
from the thousands of others but because they got 
there first. 

This courage strikes everybody who witnesses 
one of their combats. It makes the blood tingle with 
admiration. Without counting the cost, little ants 
rush at big ones. Some smaller species know how 
to combine when attacking a big ant. A half-dozen 
fasten to his legs and tug, while another clambers 
to his back and saws his head off. 

If you listen closely when a big battle is on, you 
may hear little sounds proceeding from the field of 


264 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


carnage—not shouts, but the blows and grindings 
of mandibles, the impact of swords and battle-ax 
on armor. 

—Samuel A. Derieux 

Courtesy of “American Magazine ” 

CLASSIFYING WORDS 

Write your name and grade at the top of your paper. Divide 
the rest of your paper into four parts and head each column 
with one of the following words. 

Farmer Barber Policeman Carpenter 

From the list of words below select the words that belong 
to the farmer, write them in the column headed Farmer. The 
words that belong to the policeman should be written in column 
headed Policeman. Continue until all the words are classified 
in the four columns. Your teacher will time you. Fold your arms 
as soon as you finish as a signal to your teacher that you have 
finished. 


plow 

address 

letter box 

envelope 

razor 

knucks 

court 

prisoner 

star 

thief 

shave 

law 

letter 

comb 

revolver 

tonic 

sail 

stamp 

parcel 

implements 

horse 

can 

clippers 

hair cut 

scissors 

brush 

collection 

Fg 

R.F.D. 

hand cuffs 


KING BRUCE AND THE SPIDER 


265 


KING BRUCE AND THE SPIDER 

The Scotch wanted for centuries to be independent from 
England and have their own king. At times during their 
history they have had their own rulers, though at present, as 
you know, they are under the control of England. 

One of the leading noble families of Scotland was the Bruce 
family, who were always ready to fight to free their country. 
The following story tells of an incident in the life of Robert Bruce, 
who claimed the throne of Scotland after King Alexander died 
in 1286. The nearest heir to the throne was a little girl, Mar¬ 
garet, known as the Maid of Norway, but she died on board 
ship when she was on her way to become queen of Scotland. 
Thirteen persons claimed the throne, and among these was 
Robert Bruce. At the time of this story he had suffered many 
defeats and was so discouraged that he was about ready to give 
up, when he is said to have seen the spider that taught him a 
valuable lesson. 

See if you can be the first one in your class to discover what 
this lesson was that he learned. 

King Bruce of Scotland flung himself down 
In lonely mood to think; 

Tis true he was monarch, and wore a crown, 

But his heart was beginning to sink. 

For he had been trying to do a great deed, 

To make his people glad; 

He had tried and tried, but couldn’t succeed; 

And so he became quite sad. 

He flung himself down in low despair, 

As grieved as man could be; 

And after a while as he pondered there, 

‘Til give it all up,” said he. 

Now, just at that moment, a spider dropped, 

With its silken, filmy clue; 


266 COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 

And the King, in the midst of his thinking, stopped 
To see what the spider would do. 

’Twas a long way up to the ceiling dome, 

And it hung by a rope so fine, 

That how it would get to its cobweb home 
King Bruce could not divine. 

It soon began to cling and crawl 

Straight up, with a strong endeavor; 

But down it came with a slippery sprawl. 

As near to the ground as ever. 

Up, up it ran, not a second to stay. 

To utter the least complaint, 

Till it fell still lower, and there it lay, 

A little dizzy and faint. 

Its head grew steady—again it went, 

And traveled a half yard higher; 

’Twas a delicate thread it had to tread, 

A road where its feet would tire. 

Again it fell and swung below, 

But again it quickly mounted; 

Till up and down, now fast, now slow, 

Nine brave attempts were counted. 

“Sure,” cried the King, “that foolish thing 
Will strive no more to climb; 

When it toils so hard to reach and cling, 

And tumbles every time.” 

But up the insect went once more; 

Ah me! ’tis an anxious minute; 


KING BRUCE AND THE SPIDER 


267 


He's only a foot from his cobweb door, 

Oh, say will he lose or win it? 

Steadily, steadily, inch by inch, 

Higher and higher he got, 

And a bold little run at the very last pinch 
Put him into his native cot. 

“Bravo, bravo!" the King cried out; 

“All honor to those who try; 

The spider up there defied despair; 

He conquered, and why shouldn’t I?" 

And Bruce of Scotland braced his mind, 

And gossips tell the tale, 

That he tried once more as he tried before, 

And that time did not fail. 

—Eliza Cook 


“‘MY HEART LEAPS UP” 

My heart leaps up when I behold 
A rainbow in the sky: 

So was it when my life began; 

So is it now I am a man; 

So be it when I shall grow old, 

Or let me die! 

The child is father of the man; 

And I could wish my days to he 
Bound each to each by natural piety. 

—William Wordsworth 


268 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


THE SAGACITY OF THE SPIDER 

You have heard of a “sage” or a very wise person, have 
you not? A sage is said to know many wonderful things, 
and his wisdom is spoken of as “sagacity.” After reading the 
following account you will see how wise the spider is and how 
much like an intelligent person he is in his everyday life. 

It will take you somewhat longer to read this account 
because you are to stop and look up the words in italics in 
your dictionary unless you already know what they mean 
and can give a good definition of each. If you do know, of 
course you do not need to stop to look up that particular 
word, but may go on reading until you come to one the meaning 
of which you do not know. 

If you cannot tell what a word means, even though you 
feel that you know the meaning look it up to make sure. Try 
then to use five of these words once each day in your conversa¬ 
tion for five days so as to add to your vocabulary. At the end 
of that time the word will be yours. 

Animals in general are sagacious in proportion as 
they cultivate society. Elephants and beavers show 
the greatest signs of this sagacity when they are 
together in large numbers; but when man intrudes 
himself into their communities , they lose all their 
spirit of industry, and indicate but a very small 
share of that trait for which, when in a social state, 
they are so remarkable. 

Among insects, the labors of the bee and the ant 
have employed the attention and admiration of nat¬ 
uralists ^ but all their sagacity seems to be lost upon 
separation, and a single bee or ant seems destitute 
of every degree of industry, is the most stupid in¬ 
sect imaginable, languishes for a time in solitude , 
and soon dies 

Of all the solitary insects I have ever noticed, the 
spider is the most sagacious, and its actions to me, 
who have attentively considered them, seem almost 


THE SAGACITY OF THE SPIDER 


269 

to exceed belief. This insect is formed by nature 
for war, not only upon other insects, but also upon 
its own species. Nature seems to have formed it for 
this condition of life. 

Its head and breast are covered with a strong 
natural coat of mail, which is impenetrable to the 
attacks of every other insect, and its body is envel¬ 
oped in a soft, pliable skin, which eludes the sting 
even of a wasp. Its legs are terminated by strong 
claws, not unlike those of a lobster; and their vast 
length, like spears, serves to keep every assailant at 
a distance. 

Not worse furnished for observation than for at¬ 
tack or defense, it has several eyes, large, transpar¬ 
ent, , and covered with a horny substance, which, 
however, does not impede its vision. Besides this, 
it is furnished with a forceps above the mouth, 
which serves to kill or secure the prey already 
caught in its claws or its net. 

Such are the implements of war with which the 
body is immediately furnished; but its net to en¬ 
tangle the enemy seems to be what it chiefly trusts 
to, and what it takes most pains to render as com¬ 
plete as possible. Nature has furnished the body of 
this little creature with a glutinous liquid, which it 
spins into thread, coarse or fine as it chooses. 

In order to fix its threads when it begins to weave, 
it emits a small drop of its liquid against the wall, 
which, hardening by degrees, serves to hold the 
thread very firmly. Then, as it recedes from the 
first point, the thread lengthens; and when the 
spider has come to the place where the other end of 
the thread should be fixed, gathering up with its 
claws the thread, which would otherwise be too slack, 


2JO 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


it is stretched tight and fixed to the wall in the 
same manner as before. 

In this way it spins and fixes several threads 
parallel to one another, which, so to speak, serve as 
the warp to the intended web. To form the woof, 
it spins in the same manner its thread, transversely 
fixing one end to the first thread that was spun, 
and which is always the strongest of the whole web, 
and the other to the wall. All these threads, being 
newly spun, are glutinous, and therefore stick to 
one another wherever they happen to touch; and 
in those parts of the web most likely to be torn, our 
natural artist strengthens them, by doubling the 
threads sometimes sixfold. 

I perceived , about four years ago, a large spider 
in one corner of my room, making its web, and 
though the servant frequently leveled her fatal 
broom against the labors of the little animal, I had 
the good fortune then to prevent its destruction. 

In three days the web was completed; nor could 
I avoid thinking that the insect seemed to exult in 
its new abode. It repeatedly traversed it round, and 
examined the strength of every part of it, retired 
into its hole, and came out very frequently . The 
first enemy, however, it had to encounter was am 
other and a much larger spider, which, having no 
web of its own, and having probably exhausted all 
its stock in former labors of this kind, came to in¬ 
vade the property of its neighbor. 

Soon, then, a terrible encounter followed, in 
which the invader seemed to have the victory, and 
the laborious spider was obliged to take refuge in 
its hole. Upon this I perceived the victor using 
every art to draw the enemy from its stronghold. 
He seemed to go off, but quickly returned, and, when 


THE SAGACITY OF THE SPIDER 


27I 


he found all his arts vain, began to destroy the 
new web without mercy. This brought on another 
battle, and, contrary to my expectations, the labori¬ 
ous spider became conqueror, and fairly killed its 
antagonist . 

Now then, in peaceful possession of what was 
justly its own, it waited three days with the utmost 
impatience, repairing the breaks of its web, and 
taking no food that I could perceive. At last, how¬ 
ever, a large blue fly fell into the snare, and strug¬ 
gled hard to get loose. The spider gave it leave to 
entangle itself as much as possible, but it seemed 
to be too strong for the cobweb. 

I was greatly surprised when I saw the spider 
immediately sally out, and in less than a minute 
weave a new net around its captive, by which the 
motion of its wings was stopped, and when it was 
fairly entangled in this manner it was seized and 
dragged into the hole. 

In this manner it lived, in a perilous state, and 
nature seemed to have fitted it for such a life; for 
upon a single fly it subsisted for more than a week. 
I once put a wasp into the nest, but when the 
spider came out to seize it as usual, upon perceiv¬ 
ing what kind of an enemy it had to deal with, 
it instantly broke all the bands that held it fast, 
and contributed all that lay in its power to dis¬ 
engage so powerful an antagonist. 

When the wasp was at liberty, I expected that 
the spider would have set about repairing the breaks 
in the net; but this, it seems, could not be accom¬ 
plished; therefore the cobweb was now entirely for¬ 
saken, and a new one begun, which was completed 
in the usual time. 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


.72 

I had now a mind to try how many cobwebs a 
single spider could furnish; therefore I destroyed 
this, and the insect set about another. When I de¬ 
stroyed the other also, its whole stock seemed en¬ 
tirely exhausted, and it could spin no more. The 
arts it made use of to support itself, now deprived 
of its great means of subsistence, were indeed sur¬ 
prising. I have seen it roll up its legs like a ball, 
and lie motionless for hours together, but cautiously 
watching all the time; when a fly happened to ap¬ 
proach sufficiently near; it would dart out all at 
once, and often seize its prey . 

Of this life, however, it soon began to grow 
weary, and resolved to invade the possession of 
some other spider, since it could not make a web 
of its own. It made an attack upon a neighboring 
web with great vigor, and at first was as vigorously 
repulsed . Not daunted, however, with one defeat, in 
this manner it continued to lay siege to another’s 
web for three days, and at length, having killed 
the defendant, actually took possession. 

When smaller flies happen to fall into the snare, 
the spider does not sally out at once, but very 
patiently waits till it is sure of them; for, should it 
immediately approach, the terror of its appearance 
might give the captive strength sufficient to get 
loose; its habit then is to wait patiently till, by 
useless struggles, the captive has wasted all its 
strength, and then it becomes a certain and easy 
conquest . 

The insect I am now describing lived three 
years; every year it changed its skin and got a new 
set of legs. I have sometimes plucked off a leg, 
which grew again in two or three days. At first 
it dreaded my approach to its web; but at last it 


THE SAGACITY OF THE SPIDER 


2 73 


became so familiar as to take a fly out of my hand, 
and upon my touching any part of the web would 
immediately leave its hole, prepared either for de¬ 
fense or an attack. 

To complete this description it may be observed 
that the male spiders are much smaller than the 
female. When the latter come to lay, they spread 
a part of their web under the eggs, and then roll 
them up carefully, as we roll up things in a cloth, 
and thus hatch them in their hole. 

If disturbed in their holes, they never attempt 
to escape without carrying their young brood in 
their forceps away with them, and thus frequently 
are they sacrificed to their parental affection . 

As soon as ever the young ones leave their artificial 
covering, they begin to spin, and almost sensibly 
seem to grow bigger. If they have the good fortune, 
when even but a day old, to catch a fly, they begin 
to eat with good appetites; but they live sometimes 
three or four days without any sort of sustenance , 
and yet still continue to grow larger, so as every'day 
to double their former size. 

As they grow old, however, they do not continue 
to increase in size; their legs, only, grow longer; and 
when a spider becomes entirely stiff with age, and 
unable to seize its prey, it dies at length of hunger. 

—Oliver Goldsmith 

VELOCITY 

Teacher—“Johnny, what is velocity ?” 

Johnny—“Velocity is what a fellow lets go of a bee 
with.” 

—Selected 


274 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


HOW NEW PLANTS ARE PRODUCED 

At the end of this article is a list of questions. Read the 
article carefully and see if you can answer all of the questions 
without turning back to read portions of the article a second 
time. 

New plants are produced by many different 
methods, (i) By seeds. This is the most common 
means of raising new plants. (2) By runners from 
an old plant. (3) By slips from an old plant. (4) 
By bulbs or tubers. 

We are all familiar with the method of sowing seeds 
on the farm or in our gardens to produce a new crop 
of plants which in their turn will produce seeds. But 
have you ever thought how weeds and trees scatter 
their seeds and produce new plants without any care 
on our part? 

Have you ever been walking through the woods or 
along a fence and found a cluster of berry vines? 
Did you wonder how they came to be in that place? 
They may have started in many ways. A bird, 
resting on a fence or in a tree, may have dropped a 
berry from a distant berry patch on its way to feed 
its young. A vine grew from one of the seeds in the 
berry and then spread until we have the cluster of 
berry vines. Nature has provided the berry with a 
very desirable fruit in which the seeds are imbedded. 
Animals pick the fruit and carry it from place to place. 
Nuts of various trees are also scattered in this way. 

The seeds of the milk-weed are very light and are 
provided with a tuft of fluffy down which forms a 
parachute which carries the seed along with the 
wind. Dandelion seeds are also carried from place 
to place in the same way. 


HOW NEW PLANTS ARE PRODUCED 


2 75 


The seeds of some trees are provided with little 
wings which whirl them about and allow them to be 
carried a considerable distance by the wind. The 
maple tree furnishes an excellent example of this 
method of scattering seeds. 

Have you ever had the experience of walking 
through a patch of Spanish needles and have them 
stick all over your clothes? If so, you may have 
picked them off a few at a time as you walked along 
and have thrown them down. By this very clever 
method nature has enlisted your assistance in help¬ 
ing scatter the seeds of the Spanish needles in new 
locations. Many other plants use this method of 
having their seeds fasten themselves on the clothing 
of people or on the fur of animals so that they may be 
carried to new locations. 

One spring the writer set out thirty red-raspberry 
plants. The following spring the new plants came up 
all over the berry patch and filled it with a solid 
mass of new plants. It was necessary to cut paths 
through the patch in order to be able to pick the ber¬ 
ries from the old bushes. These new raspberry 
plants came from underground runners from the old 
plants. 

Quack grass is one of the worst weeds that can get 
into a field or garden because it springs from under¬ 
ground runners. The only way to get rid of this 
troublesome grass is to pull it up by the roots. If 
any portion of the underground runner is left, it will 
take root and start a new bunch of quack grass. 

If the tip of a black raspberry stalk is covered 
with dirt, it will take root. The new “slip” which 
is thus formed may then be cut off the parent plant 
and a new plant started. New grapevines are also 
started in a similar way. 


2j6 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


Some flowers form roots so easily that a portion of 
the stalk may be cut off the old plant and kept in 
well moistened dirt until it has taken root. 

Other flowers such as tulips, hyacinths, canna 
lilies and dahlias are re-produced by means of bulbs 
and tubers. Potatoes are also raised from plants 
which grow from a tuber. Each of the eyes of a po¬ 
tato is capable of producing a new plant. Many of 
these tubers and bulbs must be removed from the 
ground and stored in a warm place during the winter 
or they will be destroyed by freezing. Some bulbs, 
such as tulip and narcissus, may be planted in the 
autumn and left out during the winter. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Name four methods of re-producing plants. 

2. Describe at least three ways in which weed seed is 
scattered from one location to another. 

3. Mention two plants which re-produce themselves by 
means of underground runners from the old plant. 

4. Describe the method of securing a new “slip” from a 
grapevine. 

5. Name five plants which produce bulbs or tubers from 
which new plants grow. 

6. Name one bulb which is not damaged by freezing. 

7. What tubers are usually destroyed by freezing? 

NEW PROBLEMS 

1. How would you raise a new plant from a geranium? 

2. What is an onion set? How is it raised? What does 
it produce? 

3. What other methods do weeds use to scatter their seeds 
than by using the wind? 

4. Make a list of twenty plants and tell how each is re¬ 
produced. 


READING ARITHMETIC PROBLEMS 


2 77 


READING ARITHMETIC PROBLEMS 

Many errors in solving problems come from careless read¬ 
ing of the problems. In reading an arithmetic problem always 
try to picture the real situation in which the problem has arisen 
or in which it may arise. Be sure that you know what is given 
and also what you are asked to find. Then you must be careful 
in selecting the correct process which is to be used in finding 
the answer to the problem. 

The following example will show one way of attacking an 
arithmetic problem. 

i. Edna bought io pounds of sugar at 9 cents 
per pound; 2 pounds of rice at 11 cents per pound; 5 
pounds of apples at 8 cents per pound. Find the 
total amount of her purchases. 

Edna is shopping in a grocery store. She must know the 
total amount of her purchases to see how much money to pay 
the grocer. The problem gives the number of pounds of each 
article and the cost per pound. In order to find the cost of a 
number of articles of the same kind we must multiply the cost 
per pound by the number of pounds. That will give us three 
amounts for the three articles. To get the total amount we 
must add the three amounts together. 

Read the following problems and tell how to attack 
each problem in a manner similar to the method used 
in the preceding problem. 

2. A farmer hauled a load of 25 sacks of wheat 
to an elevator. A sack of wheat holds about 2 bushels. 
A bushel of wheat weighs 60 pounds. What was the 
total weight of the 25 sacks of wheat? 

3. A family uses 3 quarts of milk per day. Find 
their milk bill for April at 15 cents per quart. 

4. An orchard contains 964 trees. Of these trees 
218 are Jonathans, 189 are Wine Saps, 206 are Nor¬ 
thern Spies and the remainder consists of other vari- 


2 7 8 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


eties. How many trees of other varieties are there in 
this orchard? 

5. A room is 12 feet long and 10 feet wide. How 
many feet of picture molding will it take to go around 
the top of the room? 

6. A conductor on a street car rang up 84 fares 
on one run. At the end of the run there were only 
19 people left to transfer to another car. How many 
left the car before it reached the end of the run? 

7. Ruth was given two dollar-bills to buy grocer¬ 
ies for her mother. She was told that she might have 
any money that was left to put in her school savings 
account. She spent $1.76 for the groceries. How 
much did she have left for her savings account? 

8. A fifth grade class gave an entertainment- 
They spent $17.40 for material for costumes. They 
sold 382 tickets at 10 cents each. What was their 
net profit on the entertainment? 

Net profit is the balance that is left after all expenses are 
paid. 

9. Harold's father gave him an allowance of 60 
cents per week for doing chores about the house. 
He required him to save at least one-fifth of each 
week's allowance for his school savings account. At 
that rate how much would he save in 40 weeks? 

10. A dealer bought 4 cars of coal, containing 31 
tons, 30 tons, 38 tons and 39 tons. Find the total 
number of tons in the four cars. 


HIAWATHA’S WOOING 


279 


HIAWATHA’S WOOING 

Hiawatha’s Wooing is one of the best known chapters of 
Longfellow’s famous poem, Hiawatha. The story is here given 
in dramatic form so that you may act it out. You must put 
yourself in the place of each character that you represent, think 
how he would feel and then try to express that feeling to your 
audience. Indian costumes will add a great deal to the presen¬ 
tation of this little play. 

SCENE I 

Hiawatha is sitting in front of his wigwam with a bow in his 
hand. 


Hiawatha: 

“As unto the bow the cord is, 

So unto the man is woman, 

Though she bends him, she obeys him, 
Useless each without the other.” 


Nokomis, the grandmother of Hiawatha, comes out of the 
wigwam and sits down on the other side of the doorway. 


Hiawatha: 

“Dear Nokomis, I am going to the 
land of the Dacotahs to per¬ 
suade Minnehaha to become 
my wife.” 

Nokomis: 

“Wed a maiden of your people, 

Go not eastward, go not westward, 
For a stranger, whom we know not. 
Like a fire upon the hearthstone 

Is a neighbor’s homely daughter; 

Like the starlight or the moonlight 

Is the handsomest of strangers.” 

Hiawatha: 

“Dear old Nokomis, 

Very pleasant is the firelight, 

But I like the starlight better, 

Better do I like the moonlight.” 


28o 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


Nokomis rises and advances a step towards Hiawatha. 
Nokomis: “Bring not here an idle maiden, 

Bring not here a useless woman, 
Hands unskillful, feet unwilling; 
Bring a wife with nimble fingers, 
Heart and hand that move together 
Feet that run on willing errands.” 

Hiawatha rises, smiles at Nokomis and tries to persuade her 
to like Minnehaha. 

Hiawatha: “In the land of the Dacotahs 

Lives the Arrow-maker’s daughter, 
Minnehaha, Laughing Water, 
Handsomest of all the women. 

I will bring her to your wigwam, 

She shall run upon your errands, 

Be your starlight, moonlight, firelight, 
Be the sunlight of my people.” 
Nokomis: “Bring not to my lodge a stranger 

From the land of the Dacotahs. 

Very fierce are the Dacotahs, 

Often is there war between us, 

There are feuds yet unforgotten, 
Wounds that ache and still may 
open.” 


Hiawatha: “For that reason if no other, 

Would I wed the fair Dacotah, 

That our tribes might be united, 
That old feuds might be forgotten 
And old wounds be healed for ever.” 


Nokomis goes into the wigwam and Hiawatha picks up his 
bow and arrows and hangs them over his shoulder. 
Hiawatha: “I must start at once for the home of 

the Arrow-maker in the land of 
the Dacotahs.” 

Hiawatha walks off the stage. 


HIAWATHA’S WOOING 


281 


SCENE II 

Trees on the stage. No wigwam. Hiawatha crosses the 
stage on his way to the land of the Dacotahs. Just before he 
leaves the stage he pauses, puts his hand to his ear and listens. 
Hiawatha: “Pleasant is the sound. 

Pleasant is the voice that calls me. 

He starts and gazes intently off one end of the stage. He 
takes his bow and arrows off his shoulder and says: 
Hiawatha: To the bow—“Fail not.” 

To the arrow—“Swerve not.” 
Hiawatha shoots at deer in the distance (off one end of the 
stage) and then runs off the stage to get the deer that he killed. 

SCENE III 

Wigwam on the stage. Arrow-maker sitting in front of the 
wigwam pounding with one stone on another as if making arrows. 
Minnehaha is sitting by his side weaving a mat. She pauses 
with her work in her lap. 

Minnehaha: “Father, do you think Hiawatha, who 

bought arrows of us last spring, 
will come to buy more arrows 
before winter?” 

Arrow-maker: “I hope that he will for he was a brave 
and wise young warrior.” 

Both of them pause and listen to the sound of footsteps. 
Hiawatha enters with a deer (imitation one) over his shoulder. 
The Arrow-maker lays aside the unfinished arrow and stands 
at the doorway of his wigwam. 

Arrow-maker: “Hiawatha, you are welcome.” 

Hiawatha throws his deer at the feet of Minnehaha. She 
looks up at him and greets him. 

Minnehaha: “You are welcome, Hiawatha.” 

Hiawatha and the Arrow-maker sit down in front of the 
wigwam. Minnehaha brings food to them. As they eat, 
they carry on the following conversation. 


282 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


Hiawatha: 


Arrow-maker: 


Hiawatha: 


“We also have plenty to eat and are 
very happy in the land of the 
Ojibways.” 

“We are very glad to sell arrow-heads 
to our neighbors and have them 
visit our wigwam.” 

“After many years of warfare, 

Many years of strife and bloodshed, 
There is peace between the Objibways 
And the tribe of the Dacotahs. 

That this peace may last forever, 

And our hands be clasped more closeVy 
And our hearts be more united, 

Give me as my wife this maiden, 
Minnehaha, Laughing Water, 
Loveliest of Dacotah women.” 


The ancient Arrow-maker sits awhile in silence, looks at 
Hiawatha proudly and then fondly looks up at his daughter. 

Arrow-maker: “Yes, if Minnehaha wishes; 

Let your heart speak, Minnehaha.” 
Minnehaha pauses a moment, then goes over to Hiawatha 
and sits down beside him. 

Minnehaha: “I will follow you, my husband.” 

Hiawatha and Minnehaha shake hands with the Arrow- 
maker and walk off the stage, hand in hand. The Arrow-maker 
again takes up his stones to go on with making Arrow-heads. 
He pauses a moment and then speaks. 

Arrow-maker: “Thus it is our daughters leave us, 

Those we love and those who love us. 
Just when they have learned to help 
us. 

When we are old and lean upon them, 
Comes a youth with flaunting feath¬ 
ers. 


HIAWATHA’S WOOING 


283 


With his flute of reeds, a stranger 
Wanders piping through the village. 
Beckons to the fairest maiden, 

And she follows where he leads her, 
Leaving all things for the stranger.” 

CLASS PROBLEM—DRAMATIZING A POEM 

Work out Chapters XI and XII (Hiawatha’s Wed¬ 
ding-Feast) in a dramatic form similar to the pre¬ 
ceding story of Hiawatha’s Wooing. Put in direc¬ 
tions for the acting and also the songs and speeches 
which are made at this wedding-feast. Memorize 
this play and give the play together with Hiawatha’s 
Wooing for the school during one of your assembly 
periods. 


ANECDOTES 

“Johnny,” said his aunt, “did you enjoy the book 
I sent you on your birthday?” 

“H’ain’t looked at it yet.” 

“Why, how is that?” 

“’Cause ma said I’d have to wash my hands when 
I read it.” 

—Boston Transcript 


The Angler. —“Is this a public lake, my man?” 
The Inhabitant.—“Aye.” 

The Angler.—“Then it won’t be a crime ifllanda 
fish?” 

The Inhabitant.—“No, it'll be a miracle.” 

—The Christian Register 



284 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR A LADY 

This story is written in the broken English of the foreign 
Jewish section of New York City. This makes the story more 
difficult to read than one written in regular English. Thfe story 
is one of the finest of the recent productions of American authors. 
Ask the teacher to explain expressions or references which 
you do not understand, such as “the marks of Hamlet’s excite¬ 
ment.” 

It is hoped that you will like this story so well that you will 
want to read the other stories of the book, entitled Little 
Citizens , by Myra Kelly. It contains a series of stories showing 
the humor of school life and carries the same characters through 
the book. 

It was the week before Christmas, and the First- 
Reader Class had, almost to a man, decided on the 
gifts to be lavished on “Teacher.” She was quite 
unprepared for any such observance on the part of 
her small adherents, for her first study of the roll- 
book had shown her its numerous Jacobs, Isidores, 
and Rachels belonged to a class to which Christmas 
Day was much as other days. And so she went 
serenely on her way, all unconscious of the swift 
and strict relation between her manner and her 
chances. She was, for instance, the only person in 
the room who did not know that her criticism of 
Isidore Belchatosky’s hands and face cost her a tall 
“three for ten cents” candlestick and a plump box of 
candy. 

But Morris Mogilewsky, whose love for Teacher 
was far greater than the combined loves of all the 
other children, had as yet no present to bestow. 
That his “kind feeling” should be without proof when 
the lesser loves of Isidore Wishnewsky, Sadie Gono- 
rowsky, and Bertha Binderwitz were taking the 
tangible but surprising forms which were daily ex- 


A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR A LADY 285 

hibited to his confidential gaze, was more than he 
could bear. The knowledge saddened all his hours 
and was the more maddening because it could in no 
wise be shared by Teacher, who noticed his altered 
bearing and tried with all sorts of artful beguilements 
to make him happy and at ease. But her efforts 
served only to increase his unhappiness and his love. 
And he loved her! Since first his dreading eyes had 
clung for a breath’s space to her “like man’s shoes” 
and then crept timidly upward past a black skirt, a 
“from silk” apron, a red “jumper,” and “from gold” 
chain to her “light face,” she had been mistress of 
his heart of hearts. That was more than three 
months ago. And well he remembered the day! 

His mother had washed him horribly, and had 
taken him into the big, red schoolhouse, so familiar 
from the outside, but so full of unknown terrors with¬ 
in. After his dusty little shoes had stumbled over the 
threshold he had passed from ordeal to ordeal until 
at last he was torn in mute and white-faced despair 
from his mother’s skirts. 

He was then dragged through long halls and up 
tall stairs by a large boy, who spoke to him disdain¬ 
fully as “greenie,” and cautioned him as to the lay¬ 
ing down softly and taking up gently of those poor 
dusty shoes, so that his spirit was quite broken and 
his nerves were all unstrung when he was pushed into 
a room full of bright sunshine and of children who 
laughed at his frightened little face. The sunshine 
smote his timid eyes, the laughter smote his timid 
heart, and he turned to flee. But the door was .shut, 
the large boy was gone, and despair took him for 
its own. 

Down upon the floor he dropped, and wailed, and 
wept, and kicked. It was then that he heard, for 


286 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


the first time, the voice which he now loved. A 
hand was forced between his aching body and the 
floor, and the voice said: 

“Why, my dear little chap, you musn’t cry like 
that. What's the matter?" 

The hand was gentle and the question kind, and 
these, combined with a faint perfume suggestive of 
drug stores and barber shops—but nicer than either 
—made him uncover his hot little face. Kneeling 
beside him was a lady, and he forced his eyes to 
that perilous ascent; from shoes to skirt, from skirt to 
jumper, from jumper to face, they trailed in dread 
uncertainty, but at the face they stopped. They 
had found—rest. 

Morris allowed himself to be gathered into the 
lady's arms and held upon her knee, and when his 
sobs no longer rent the very foundations of his 
pink and widespread tie, he answered her question 
in a voice as soft as his eyes, and as gently sad. 

“I ain't so big, und I don't know where is my 
mama." 

So, having cast his troubles on the shoulders of the 
lady, he had added his throbbing head to the burden, 
and from that safe retreat had enjoyed his first day 
at school immensely. 

Thereafter he had been the first to arrive every 
morning, and the last to leave every aftenioon; 
and under the care of Teacher, his liege lady, he had 
grown in wisdom and love and happiness. But the 
greatest of these was love. And now, when the other 
boys and girls were planning surprises and gifts for 
Teacher, his hands were as empty as his heart was 
full. Appeal to his mother met with denial prompt 
and energetic. 


A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR A LADY 287 

For what you go und make, over Christmas, 
presents? You ain’t no Krisht; you should better 
have no kind feelings over Krishts, neither; your 
papa could to have a mad.” 

Teacher ain’t no Krisht,” said Morris stoutly; 
“all the other fellows buy her presents, und I’m 
loving mit her too; it’s polite I gives her presents the 
while I’m got such a kind feeling over her?” 

“Well, we ain’t got no money for buy nothings,” 
said Mrs. Mogilewsky sadly. “No money,.und your 
papa, he has all times a scare he shouldn’t to get 
no more, the while the boss”—and here followed 
incomprehensible, but depressing, financial details, 
until the end of the interview found Morris and his 
mother sobbing and rocking in one another’s arms. 
So Morris was helpless, his mother poor, and Teacher 
all unknowing. 

And the great day, the Friday before Christmas 
came, and the school was, for the first half hour, 
quite mad. Doors opened suddenly and softly to 
admit small persons, clad in wondrous ways and 
bearing wondrous parcels. Room 18, generally so 
placid and so peaceful, was a howling wilderness full 
of brightly coloured, quickly changing groups of 
children, all whispering, all gurgling, and all hiding 
queer bundles. A newcomer invariably caused a 
diversion; the assembled multitude, athirst for 
novelty, fell upon him and clamoured for a glimpse 
of his bundle and a statement of its price. 

Teacher watched in dumb amaze. What could be 
the matter with the children, she wondered. They 
could not have guessed the shrouded something in 
the corner to be a Christmas-tree. What made them 
behave so queerly, and why did they look so strange? 
They seemed to have grown stout in a single night, 


268 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


and Teacher, as she noted this, marvelled greatly. 
The explanation was simple, though it came in alarm¬ 
ing form. The sounds of revelry were pierced by a 
long, shrill yell, and a pair of agitated legs sprang sud¬ 
denly into view between two desks. Teacher, rushing 
to the rescue, noted that the legs formed the unsteady 
stem of an upturned mushroom of brown flannel 
and green braid, which she recognized as the outward 
seeming of her cherished Bertha Binderwitz; and 
yet, when the desks were forced to disgorge their 
prey, the legs restored to their normal position were 
found to support a fat child—and Bertha was best 
described as “skinny”—in a dress of the Stuart tartan 
tastefully trimmed with purple. Investigation proved 
that Bertha's accumulative taste in dress was an 
established custom. In nearly all cases the glory 
of holiday attire was hung upon the solid foundation 
of everyday clothes as bunting is hung upon a build¬ 
ing. The habit was economical of time, and produced 
a charming embonpoint. 

Teacher, too, was more beautiful than ever. Her 
dress was blue, and “very long down, like a lady,” 
with bands of silk and scraps of lace distributed with 
the eye of art. In her hair she wore a bow of what 
Sadie Gonorowsky, whose father “worked by fancy 
goods,” described as black “from plush ribbon— 
costs ten cents.” 

Isidore Belchatosky, relenting, was the first to lay 
tribute before Teacher. He came forward with a 
sweet smile and a tall candlestick—the candy had 
gone to its long home—and Teacher, for a moment, 
could not be made to understand that all that length 
of bluish-white china was really hers “for keeps.” 

“It’s to-morrow holiday,” Isidore assured her; 
“and we gives you presents, the while we have a kind 


A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR A LADY 289 

feeling. Candlesticks could to cost twenty-five 
cents.” 

“It’s a lie. Three for ten,” said a voice in the back¬ 
ground, but Teacher hastened to respond to Isidore's 
test of her credulity: 

“Indeed, they could. This candlestick could 
have cost fifty cents, and it's just what I want. It 
is very good of you to bring me a present.” 

“You're welcome,” said Isidore, retiring; and then, 
the ice broken, the First-Reader Class in a body rose 
to cast its gifts on Teacher's desk, and its arms 
around Teacher's neck. 

Nathan Horowitz presented a small cup and 
saucer; Isidore Applebaum bestowed a large calendar 
for the year before last; Sadie Gonorowsky brought 
a basket containing a bottle of perfume, a thimble, 
and a bright silk handkerchief; Sarah Schrodsky of¬ 
fered a pen-wiper and a yellow celluloid collarbutton, 
and Eva Kidansky gave an elaborate nasal douche, 
under the pleasing delusion that it was an atomizer. 

Once more sounds of grief reached Teacher's ears. 
Rushing again to the rescue, she threw open the door 
and came upon Woe personified. Eva Gonorowsky, 
her hair in wildest disarray, her stocking fouled, 
ungartered, and down-gyved to her ankle, appeared 
before her teacher. She bore all the marks of Ham¬ 
let's excitement, and many more, including a tear- 
stained little face and a gilt saucer clasped to a pant¬ 
ing breast. 

“Eva, my dearest Eva, what's happened to you 
now?” asked Teacher, for the list of ill chances which 
had befallen this one of her charges was very long. 
And Eva's wail was that a boy, a very big boy, had 
stolen her golden cup “what f had for you by pres- 


290 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


ent,’ and had left her only the saucer and her un¬ 
dying love to bestow. 

Before Eva’s sobs had quite yielded to Teacher’s 
arts, Jacob Spitsky pressed forward with a tortoise¬ 
shell comb of terrifying aspect and hungry teeth, 
and an air showing forth a determination to adjust 
it in its destined place. Teacher meekly bowed her 
head; Jacob forced his offering into her long-suffering 
hair, and then retired with the information, “Costs 
fifteen cents, Teacher,” and the courteous phrase 
—by etiquette prescribed—“Wish you health to wear 
it.” He was plainly a hero, and was heard remarking 
to less favoured admirers that “Teacher’s hair is 
awful softy, and smells off of perfumery.” 

Here a big boy, a very big boy, entered hastily. 
He did not belong to room 18, but he had long known 
Teacher. He had brought her a present; he wished 
her a merry Christmas. The present, when produced, 
proved to be a pretty gold cup, and Eva Gonorowsky, 
with renewed emotion, recognized the boy as her 
assailant and the cup as her property. Teacher was 
dreadfully embarrassed; the boy not at all so. His 
policy was simple and entire denial, and in this he 
persevered, even after Eva’s saucer had unmistakably 
proclaimed its relationship to the cup. 

Meanwhile the rush of presentation went steadily 
on. Other cups and saucers came in wild profusion. 
The desk was covered with them, and their wrappings 
of purple tissue paper required a monitor’s whole 
attention. The soap, too, became urgently percep¬ 
tible. It was of all sizes, shapes, and colours, but of 
uniform and dreadful power of perfume. Teacher’s 
eyes filled with tears—of gratitude—as each new 
piece or box was pressed against her nose, and 
Teacher’s mind was full of wonder as to what she 


A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR A LADY 


29 


could ever do with all of it. Bottles of perfume vied 
with one another and with the all-pervading soap 
until the air was heavy and breathing grew laborious. 
But pride swelled the hearts of the assembled mul¬ 
titude. No other Teacher had so many helps to the 
toilet. None other was so beloved. 

Teacher's aspect was quite changed, and the “blue 
long down like a lady dress" was almost hidden by 
the offerings she had received. Jacob’s comb had 
two massive and bejewelled rivals in the “softy hair." 
The front of the dress, where aching or despondent 
heads were wont to rest, glittered with campaign 
buttons of American celebrities, beginning with 
James G. Blaine and extending into modern history 
as far as Patrick Divver, Admiral Dewey, and 
Captain Dreyfus. Outside the belt was a white 
one, nearly clean, and bearing in “sure ’nough 
golden words" the curt, but stirring, invitation, 
“Remember the Maine." Around the neck were 
three chaplets of beads, wrought by chubby fingers 
and embodying much love, while the waist line was 
further adorned by tiny and beribboned aprons. 
Truly, it was a day of triumph. 

When the waste-paper basket had been twice 
filled with wrappings and twice emptied; when order 
was emerging out of chaos; when the Christmas-tree 
had been disclosed and its treasures distributed, a 
timid hand was laid on Teacher’s knee and a plain¬ 
tive voice whispered, “Say, Teacher, I got something 
for you": and Teacher turned quickly to see Morris, 
her dearest boy charge, with his poor little body 
showing quite plainly between his shirt-waist buttons 
and through the gashes he called pockets. This was 
his ordinary costume, and the funds of the house of 
Mogilewsky were evidently unequal to an outer layer 
of finery. 


292 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


“Now, Morris dear,” said Teacher, “you shouldn’t 
have troubled to get me a present; you know you 
and I are such good friends that—” 

“Teacher, yiss ma’am,” Morris interrupted, in a 
bewitching and rising inflection of his soft and plain¬ 
tive voice. “I know you got a kind feeling by me, 
and I couldn’t to tell even how I got a kind feeling by 
you. Only it’s about that kind feeling I should give 
you a present. I didn’t”—with a glance at the 
crowded desk—“I didn’t to have no soap nor no 
perfumery, and my mamma she couldn’t to buy none 
by the store; but, Teacher, I’m got something awful 
nice for you by present.” 

“And what is it, deary?” asked the already rich 
and gifted young person. “What is my new present ?” 

“Teacher, it’s like this: I don’t know; I ain’t so 
big like I could know”— and truly, God pity him! 
he was passing small—“it ain’t for boys—it’s for 
ladies. Over yesterday on the night comes my papa 
to my house, und he gives my mamma the present. 
Sooner she looks on it, sooner she has a awful glad; 
in her eyes stands tears, und she says, like that— out 
of Jewish—‘Thanks,’ un’ she kisses my papa a kiss. 
Und my papa, how he is polite! he says—out of Jewish 
too— ‘You’re welcome, all right,’ un’ he kisses my 
mamma a kiss. So my mamma, she sets and looks on 
the present, and all the time she looks she has a glad 
over it. Und I didn’t to have no soap, so you could 
to have the present.” 

“But did your mother say I might?” 

“Teacher, no ma’am; she didn’t say like that, und 
she didn’t to say not like that. She didn’t to know. 
But it’s for ladies, un’ I didn’t to have no soap. You 
could to look on it. It ain’t for boys.” 

And here Morris opened a hot little hand and dis- 


A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR A LADY 293 

closed a tightly folded pinkish paper. As Teacher 
read it he watched her with eager, furtive eyes, dry 
and bright, until hers grew suddenly moist, when his 
promptly followed suit. As she looked down at him, 
he made his moan once more: 

“It's for ladies, und I didn't to have no soap." 

“But, Morris dear," cried Teacher unsteadily, 
laughing a little, and yet not far from tears, “this is 
ever so much nicer than soap—a thousand times 
better than perfume; and you're quite right, it is for 
ladies, and I never had one in all my life before. I 
am so very thankful." 

“You're welcome, all right. That's how my papa 
says; it's polite," said Morris proudly. And proudly 
he took his place among the very little boys, and 
loudly he joined in the ensuing song. For the rest of 
that exciting day he was a shining point of virtue in 
the rest of that confused class. And at three o'clock 
he was at Teacher's desk again, carrying on the con¬ 
versation as if there had been no interruption. 

“Und my mamma," he said insinuatingly—“she 
kisses my papa a kiss." 

“Well?" said Teacher. 

“Well," said Morris, “you ain't never kissed me a 
kiss, und I seen how you kissed Eva Gonorowsky. 
I’m loving mit you too. Why don't you never kiss 
me a kiss?" 

“Perhaps," suggested Teacher mischievously, 
“perhaps it ain't for boys." 

But a glance at her “light face," with its crown of 
surprising combs, reassured him. 

“Teacher, yiss ma’am; it’s for boys," he cried as 
he felt her arms about him, and saw that in her eyes, 
too, “stands tears." 


294 COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 

“It’s polite you kisses me a kiss over that for ladies’ 
present.” 

Late that night Teacher sat in her pretty room— 
for she was, unofficially, a greatly pampered young 
person—and reviewed her treasures. She saw that 
they were very numerous, very touching, very 
whimsical, and very precious. But above all the 
rest she cherished a frayed and pinkish paper, rather 
crumpled and a little soiled. For it held the love of a 
man and a woman and a little child, and the magic of 
a home, for Morris Mogilewsky’s Christmas present 
for ladies was the receipt for a month’s rent for a room 
on the top floor of a Monroe Street tenement. 

—Myra Kelly 

Courtesy Double day , Page & Company 

ARRANGING WORDS 

Write your name on the first line of the paper and your grade 
on the second line. There should be ten lines. Each group of 
words listed below makes a good sentence. Your teacher will 
tell you when to start rearranging each group. When you finish 
raise your hand as a signal that you have finished, then sit 
quietly until all have finished. 

1. School go to like I to. 

2. Father we obey love to Mother and. 

3. Iron is a metal. 

4. Water good healthful is. 

5. Governor is elected people by. 

6. Twenty make dollar nickels one. 

7. Live we to eat. 

8. Policy is a Honesty good. 


THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 


295 


THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 

It was very cold, the snow fell, and it was almost 
quite dark; for it was evening—yes the last evening 
of the year. Amid the cold and the darkness, a poor 
little girl, with bare head and naked feet, was roam¬ 
ing through the streets. It is true, she had a pair of 
slippers when she left home, but they were not of 
much use. They were very large slippers; so large in¬ 
deed, that they had hitherto been used by her mother; 
besides, the little creature lost them as she hurried 
across the street, to avoid two carriages that were 
driving very quickly past. One of the slippers was 
not to be found, and the other was pounced upon by 
a.boy, who ran away with it, saying that it would 
serve for a cradle when he should have children of 
his own. So the little girl went along, with her little 
bare feet that were red and blue with cold. She car¬ 
ried a number of matches in an old apron, and she 
held a bundle of them in her hand. Nobody had 
bought anything from her the whole livelong day; 
nobody had even given her a penny. 

Shivering with cold and hunger, she crept along, a 
perfect picture of misery—poor little thing! The 
snow-flakes covered her long, flaxen hair, which hung 
in pretty curls around her throat; but she heeded 
them not now. Lights were streaming from all the 
windows, and there was a savory smell of roast goose; 
for it was New Year's Eve. And this she did heed. 

She sat down, cowering in a corner formed by two 
houses, one of which projected beyond the other. 
She had drawn her little feet under her, but she felt 
colder than ever; yet she dared not return home, for 
she had not sold a match, and could not bring home 
a penny! She would certainly be beaten by her 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


296 

father; and it was cold enough at home, besides—"for 
they had only the roof above them, and the wind 
came howling through it, though the largest holes 
had been stopped with straw and rags. Her little 
hands were nearly frozen with cold. Alas! a single 
match might do her some good, if she might only 
draw one out of the bundle, and rub it against the 
wall, and warm her fingers. 

So at last she drew one out. Ah! how it sheds 
sparks, and how it burns! It gave out a warm, bright 
flame, like a little candle, as she held her hands over 
it—truly it was a wonderful little sight! It really 
seemed to the little girl as if she were sitting before a 
large iron stove, with polished brass feet, and brass 
shovel and tongs. The fire burned so brightly, and 
warmed so nicely, that the little creature stretched 
out her feet to warm them likewise, when lo! the 
flame expired, the stove vanished, and left nothing 
but the little half-burned match in her hand. 

She rubbed another match against the wall. It 
gave a light, and where it shone upon the wall, the 
latter became as transparent as a veil, and she could 
see into the room. A snow-white table-cloth was 
spread upon the table, on which stood a splendid 
china dinner service, while a roast goose stuffed with 
apples and prunes, sent forth the most savory fumes. 
And what was more delightful still to see, the goose 
jumped from the dish, and waddled along the ground 
with a knife and fork in its breast, up to the poor 
girl. The match then went out, and nothing re¬ 
mained but the thick, damp wall. 

She lit another match. She now sat under the 
most magnificent Christmas tree, that was larger 
and more superbly decked, than even the one she 
had seen through the glass door at the rich mer- 


THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 


297 


chant’s. A thousand tapers burned on its green 
branches, and gay pictures, such as one sees on shields 
seemed to be looking down upon her. She stretched 
out her hands, but the match went out. The Christ¬ 
mas lights kept rising higher and higher. They now 
looked like stars in the sky. One of them fell down, 
and left a long streak of fire. “Somebody is now 
dying,” thought the little girl—for her old grand¬ 
mother, the only person who had ever loved her, and 
who was now dead, had told her that, when a star 
falls, it is a sign that a soul is going up to heaven. 

She again rubbed a match upon the wall, and it was 
again light all round; and in the brightness stood her 
old grandmother, clear and shining like a spirit, yet 
looking so mild and loving. “Grandmother,” cried 
the little one, “Oh, take me with you! I know you 
will go away when the match goes out—you will 
vanish like the warm stove, and the delicious roast 
goose, and the fine large Christmas tree!” And she 
made haste to rub the whole bundle of matches, for 
she wished to hold her grandmother fast. And the 
matches gave a light that was brighter than noonday. 
Her grandmother had never appeared so beautiful 
or so large. She took the little girl in her arms, and 
both flew upwards, all radiant and joyful, far, far 
above mortal ken, where there was neither cold, nor 
hunger, nor care to be found; where there was no 
rain, no snow, or stormy wind, but calm, sunny days 
the whole year round. 

But in the cold dawn, the poor girl might be seen 
leaning against the wall, with red cheeks and smiling 
mouth; she had been frozen on the last night of the 
old year. TheNew;Year’s sun shone upon the little 
dead girl. She sat still holding the matches, one 
bundle of which was burned. People said: “She 


298 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


tried to warm herself.” Nobody dreamed of the 
fine things that she had seen, or in what splendor 
she had entered, along with her grandmother, upon 
the joys of the New Year. 

—Hans Christian Andersen 

Describe the four pictures that the match girl saw. If 
you draw well, you may draw the pictures which you saw when 
you read this story. 


THE DAY IS DONE 

Commit this poem to memory. See page 36 for directions 
for memorizing a poem. 

The day is done, and the darkness 
Falls from the wings of night, 

As a feather is wafted downward 
From an eagle in his flight. 

I see the lights of the village 

Gleam through the rain and the mist, 

And a feeling of sadness comes o'er me 
That my soul cannot resist. 

A feeling of sadness and longing. 

That is not akin to pain, 

And resembles sorrow only 

As the mist resembles the rain. 

Come, read to me some poem, 

Some simple and heartfelt lay, 

That shall soothe this restless feeling, 

And banish the thoughts of day. 

Not from the grand old masters, 

Not from the bards sublime, 


THE DAY IS DONE 


299 


Whose distant footsteps echo 
Through the corridors of Time. 

For like strains of martial music, 

Their mighty thoughts suggest 
Life's endless toil and endeavor; 

And tonight I long for rest. 

Read from some humbler poet, 

Whose songs gushed from his heart, 

As showers from the clouds of summer, 

Or tears from the eyelids start; 

Who through long days of labor, 

And nights devoid of ease, 

Still heard in his soul the music 
Of wonderful melodies. 

Such songs have power to quiet 
The restless pulse of care, 

And come like the benediction 
That follows after prayer. 

Then read from the treasured volume 
The poem of thy choice, 

And lend to the rhyme of the poet 
The beauty of thy voice. 

And the night shall be filled with music 
And the cares that infest the day, 

Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs, 

And as silently steal away. 

Turn to the table of contents in the front of the book and 
find out who wrote the preceding poem. 


3 °° 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


In reading or reciting the poem, render it with your very 
best expression. In other words as the poet says: “lend to the 
rhyme of the poet, the beauty of thy voice” Your expression 
in your oral reading will improve if you constantly strive for 
better expression. 

1. How did the poet feel when he wrote this poem? 

2. What did he suggest as a cure for the problems of the 
day when they were still on his mind? 

3. Why did he not wish to hear a poem written by one of 
the grand old masters? 

4. What kind of poem did the author wish to hear? 

5. Select some poem other than “The Day is Done” which 
you think would have pleased the author and have banished 
his cares. Read this poem to the class and see if they agree 
that it was well chosen and also read with good expression. 

ANECDOTES 

The farmer took the new man out to a field and 
started him at plowing behind two horses. 

Two hours later the new farmhand returned to 
the house utterly exhausted. The farmer asked him 
how he was getting along. 

“Not gettin’ along at all,” grunted the man dis¬ 
gustedly; “how do you expect me to hold a plow with 
two big, strong horses trying to pull it away from me 
all the time?” 

—Boston Post 


John. —“I hear Bill was kicked off the squad.” 
Jack.—“How so?” 

John.—“He was told to tackle the dummy and he 
tackled the coach.” 


—The American Boy 



THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER 


3 QI 



THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER 

The Star-Spangled Banner was written in 1814 when Fran¬ 
cis Scott Key was a captive on board one of the ships of the 
British fleet which was attacking Fort Me Henry. All night 
long the ships fired at the fort to try to capture it. When 
morning came, Key saw our flag still flying above the fort. He 
was so thrilled with the sight that he sat down and wrote this 
famous song on the back of a letter. Every American should 
be able to sing every verse of it because it has been adopted as 
our national anthem. If you do not already know it, commit 
it to memory. 

O say! can you see, by the dawn's early light, 

What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight’s last 
gleaming? 

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the 
perilous fight, 

O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly 
streaming? 

And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, 
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still 
there. 

O say, does the Star-Spangled Banner yet wave 








3°2 


COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 


O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave? 

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the 
deep, 

Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes, 
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep 
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? 

Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam, 
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream; 

’Tis the Star-Spangled Banner, O long may it wave 
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave! 

O thus be it ever when free-men shall stand 
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation! 
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued 
land 

Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a 
nation! 

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, 
And this be our motto; “In God is our trust!” 

And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave 
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave! 

—Francis Scott Key 

THE FLAG GOES BY 

Hats off! Along the street there comes 
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums, 

A flash of color beneath the sky; 

Hats off! The flag is passing by! 

Blue and crimson and white it shines, 

Over the steel-tipped, ordered lines. 

Hats off! The colors before us fly; 

But more than the flag is passing by. 


THE FLAG GOES BY 


303 


Sea-fights and land-fights, grim and great, 
Fought to make and to save the State: 

Weary marches and sinking ships; 

Cheers of victory on dying lips; 

Days of plenty and years of peace; 

March of a strong land’s swift increase; 

Equal justice, right and law, 

Stately honor and reverend awe; 

Sign of a nation, great and strong 
To ward her people from foreign wrong; 

Pride and glory and honor,—all 
Live in the colors to stand or fall. 

Hats off! Along the street there comes 
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums; 

And loyal hearts are beating high: 

Hats off! The flag is passing by! 

—Henry Holcomb Bennett 

This is one of the most famous and also one of the best known 
poems about our flag. Every American should commit it to 
memory. 

On the next page are two illustrations —one showing how 
a scout or soldier in uniform should salute the flag; the other 
showing how a man or a boy not in uniform should salute the 
flag as it passes by. 



RESPECT THE FLAG 

When you see the Stars and Stripes displayed son 5 
stand up and take off your hat. Somebody may 
titter. It is in the blood of some to deride all ex¬ 
pression of noble sentiment. You may blaspheme in 
the street and stagger drunken in public places, and 
the bystanders will not pay much attention to you, 
but if you should get down on your knees and pray 
to almighty God, or if you should stand bareheaded 
while a company of old soldiers marches by with 
flags to the breeze, most people will think you are 
showing off. 

But don’t you mind! When Old Glory comes 
along, salute, and let them think what they please! 
When the band plays The Star-Spangled Banner in 
a restaurant or hotel dining-room, get up, even if 
you rise alone; stand there, and don’t be ashamed of 
it, either. 

Don’t be ashamed when your throat chokes and 
the tears come when you see the flag flying from 
the masts of our ships on the great seas or floating 
from every flagstaff of the Republic. You will never 
have a worthier emotion. For of all the signs and 








RESPECT THE FLAG 


305 


symbols since the world began there is none so full 
of meaning as the flag of this country. 

Other flags mean a glorious past; this flag means a 
glorious future. It is not so much the flag of our 
fathers as it is the flag of our children, and of count¬ 
less children yet unborn. It is the flag of tomorrow, 
the signal of the “good time coming.” It is not the 
flag of your king; it is the flag of yourself and your 
neighbors. 

Your flag stands for humanity, for an equal oppor¬ 
tunity to all the sons of men. Of course we have not 
yet arrived at that goal; injustice still dwells among 
us; senseless and cruel customs of the past still cling to 
us, but the flag leads the way to righting the wrongs 
of men. 

Our flag is the world’s symbol of liberty. That 
piece of red, white and blue bunting means five thou¬ 
sand years of struggle upwards. It is the full-grown 
flower of generations fighting for liberty. It is the 
century plant of human hope in full bloom. 

—Alvin M. Owsley, 

Former Commander of American Legion 

FLAG DAY 

June 14 is flag day. This date was set apart to 
celebrate the adoption by Congress on June 14, 1777 
of the following resolution: 

“Resolved that the flag of the thirteen United 
States be thirteen stripes alternate red and white, 
that the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue 
field, representing a new constellation.” 

It is not known to whom the credit of designing 
the stars and stripes is due. Betsy Ross is given the 
credit of making the flag which was officially adopted 


306 COLUMBIA FIFTH READER 

by Congress. It is claimed by her descendents that 
a committee of Congress, accompanied by General 
Washington, called upon Mrs. Ross and engaged her 
to make the flag from a rough drawing. This draw¬ 
ing at her suggestion was redrawn by General Wash¬ 
ington with a pencil and the flag thus designed was 
adopted by Congress. 

THE AMERICAN FLAG 

When Freedom from her mountain height 
Unfurled her standard to the air, 

She tore the azure robe of night, 

And set the stars of glory there; 

She mingled with its gorgeous dyes 
The milky baldric of the skies. 

And striped its pure celestial white 
With streakings of the morning light; 

Then from his mansion in the sun 
She called her eagle-bearer down. 

And gave into his mighty hand 
The symbol of her chosen land. 

********** 

Flag of the free heart's hope and home! 

By angel hands to valor given! 

Thy stars have lit the welkin dome, 

And all thy hues were born in heaven. 

Forever float that standard-sheet! 

Where breathes the foe but falls before us, 
With Freedom’s soil beneath our feet, 

And Freedom’s banner streaming o’er us! 

*—Joseph Rodman Drake 




















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